نشریه پژوهش های علوم دامی
سال سی‌ام شماره 4 (زمستان 1399)

in order to digestion, absorption and transfer of nutrition to the body cells, sometime in addition to optimal and balanced nutrient compression, some feed additives are used in diet. Non edible feed additive are include a group of different compounds that can improve the production efficiency and maintain bird health (windisch et al, 2008). In recent years, interest in use medicinal plants as feed additive to replace antibiotic growth promotor has increased. The plant additive through effect on the micro flora of the gastro intestinal tract and the control pathogens improved growth. Components of essential oil have shown biological properties such as antioxidant and antimicrobial activity (windisch et al., 2008). Ferula assa-foetida is species rich in cumarin, especially sesquie terpen cumarin. Some biological studies have shown the antimicrobial activity and the antioxidant properties of the active ingredient in the plant. The mechanism action these compound is probably due the effect on the intestinal microbial population.(Dehpour et al.,2009). In this study, effect of Ferula assa-foetida gum powder, probiotic and antibiotic on performance and meat quality in broiler chicks were investigated.

In this research 288 broiler chicks were tested in completely randomized design with 6 treatment and 4 replicate per treatment from 1 to 42 days. In each experimental unit 12 chicks were reared in the same environmental condition. Six experimental diets (treatments) were included: the basal diet without additives, basal diet containing 100 mg per kg of antibiotic, basal diet containing 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 percent of Ferula assa-foetida gum powder and basal diet containing 100ppm probiotic Basylakt. Body weight and feed intake were measured weekly and mortality was recorded daily and then used to calculate the performance parameters. At the end of experiment (42 days), one bird from each replicate was killed to determine the concentration of malonedialdehyde (MAD), pH, water holding capacity, dripping loss and cooking loss in thigh meat. On day 21 and 35, two birds of each replicate 0.1 ml SRBC ( sheep red blood cell) suspension injected in breast muscles. Six days after each injection of red blood cells (days 27 and 41), about one ml of blood was taken from the same birds through the vein. Microtiter hemagglutination method was used to determine the antibody produced against RBC of sheep. Data from the experiment were analyzed in a completely randomized design by SAS software and comparison means were performed with using of Duncan’s multiple range tests at 5% level.

The results showed that chicks fed with probiotic had higher daily weight gain and lower feed conversion ratio in total growth period. Howevert there was no significant different with treatment antibiotic and 0.2 percent Ferula assa-foetida Gum Powder. In this experiment, feed intake and titer antibody against sheep red blood cells were not affected by any of the experimental treatments. Hoshmand moshaki et al (2013) Reported that adding 0.15% Ferula assa-foetida Gum Powder in the diet broiler chicks increased the body weight gain and improve feed intake and feed conversion ratio than the control group. Also Hosseini et al (2013) reported that use of thyme, probiotic and avilamycine in the diet broiler chicks did not any significant effect on antibody titer against SRBC in experimental treatments. In this experiment, chicks fed with different levels Ferula assa-foetida Gum Powder had lower TBA than the control and antibiotic groups. pH was not affected by experimental treatment. The highest water holding capacity (WHC) was observed in treatment fed with 0.2 percent Ferula assa-foetida Gum Powder that had significant different in compare to the control group. Dripping loss and cooking loss were decreased in treatment receiving 0.2 percent Ferula assa-foetida Gum Powder compared with control group. Poultry meat is particularly prone to oxidative deterioration due to its high concentration of poly unsaturated fatty acid (Luna et al, 2010). In experiment Elias Hossain (2013) treatment fed with avylamycine and different level green tea ( 0.5, 0.1, 0.2), pH , water hold capacity and dripping loss was not affected by experimental treatments, but cooking loss in treatment with 0.2 percent green tea was lower the other groups.

In this study use of 0.2 percent Ferula assa-foetida Gum Powder and probiotic basylakt (100 ppm) in diet, improved performance and meat quality in the broiler chicks, thus they can be considered as possible antibiotic alternatives.

A large volume of literature describes the biological roles of vitamin E and its application to preventing disease and improving health and productive performances of farm animals. It is widely documented that vitamin E play an important role in the reproductive performance. The vitamin E requirement may be defined as the amount required preventing peroxidation in the particular subcellular membrane which is most susceptible to peroxidation (Koyunku and Yerlikaya 2007). Little is known about the effects of vitamin E supplementation on specific reproductive events in sheep. Most nutritionists assume that reproductive performance will not be limited when domestic animals are fed diets that meet the NRC levels. However, little is known about the effects of vitamin E supplementation on specific reproductive events in sheep and goats. Because fertilization in this animals is an all or none phenomenon (i.e., either all ovulated eggs are fertilized or none of them are fertilized), the three major variables that contribute to litter size are ovulation rates, embryonic survival and foetal survival rate (Koyunku and Yerlikaya 2007). The present experiment has been conducted in the two flocks with a history of relatively moderate fertility (90 %). The objective was to examine the effect of vitamin E supplementation on the number of lambs weaned and total lamb weaned weight.

The experiment was conducted using 200 Lori Bakhtiarii ewes (100 ewes per flock), with an average live body weight 57.5±6.7 kg and between two to seven years of age. The ewes in each flock were randomly divided into two groups, consisting of 50 ewes per group. Each group of ewes assigned to consume one of the two diets. Diets contained basal diet plus 250 gram per ewe barley grains (control) or basal diet plus 250 gram per ewe barley grains plus 500 IU vitamin E. The basal diet was based on local feeds; pasture herbage and the salt stone as free. The experiment started with the natural mating period in late summer. The feeding regimens started from 2 weeks before lasted to 3 weeks after ram introduction. The ewes from all groups were kept in the same shed and consisted as one flock while grazing. Ewes were placed in individual pens once daily to receive supplemental treatments. Ewes remained in individual pens until all trial supplements had been consumed. Ewes in each flock were mated to 10 fertile Lori Bakhtiari rams during the breeding seasons of 34 days in late summer and early autumn. Weight and body condition score of ewes at mating were measured. Body condition scoring (BCS=1 for emaciated ewes to BCS=5 for obese ewes at 0.5 interval) has been described by Russel et al. (1969). The body condition score of the ewes in this method based on touching of the tips of both the spinous and the transverse processes of the vertebrae, and the fullness of fat and muscle cover over and around the vertebrae in the loin region. The animals were general kept indoors from December to May and lambed indoors. Date of lambing, the number of lambs born, lambs birth weight, survival rate of lambs from birth to weaning and lambs weaning weight were measured. Some combination traits as total lamb birth weight and total lamb weaning weight per exposed ewe were calculated. Data were analyzed using General Linear Models (GLM) procedure of SAS.

There were no significance difference among the flocks and treatments on the ewe's body weight and body condition score of ewes at mating. Difference between control and vitamin E treatments with respect to the number of lambs born per ewe exposed to the rams was tended to be significant (p=0.06). The number of lambs born per ewe exposed to the rams was not affected by flock, and body condition score of ewes at mating. Yearling ewes produced fewer lambs than older ewes but differences were not statistically significant. Mean of birth weight of lambs were not statistically differing between flocks, treatments, ewes body condition scores and ewes parity. Total birth weight of lambs per ewe exposed to the rams and per ewe lambing was differ between treatments (p < 0.01) and was higher in vitamin E treatment. Total birth weight of lambs per ewe exposed to the rams was not affected by flock or ewe parity but, total birth weight of lambs per ewe lambing was differing between flocks (p < 0.01). Effects of body condition score on the total birth weight of lambs per ewe exposed to the rams and per ewe lambing were statistically significance (p < 0.05). The number of weaned lambs (p < 0.01), total lambs weaned weight per ewe exposed to the rams (p < 0.01) and total lambs weaned weight per ewe lambing (p < 0.05) were higher in vitamin E treatment than control group. There were not significance difference among different flocks and different ewe parity on the number of lamb's weaned and total lambs weaning weight per ewe exposed to the rams and per ewe lambing. Body condition scores was influenced the number of lambs weaned and total lambs weaning weight per ewe exposed to the rams (p < 0.05).

Data obtained in this study indicated that in the Lori Bakhtiatri sheep, using supplemental vitamin E in the diet of ewes given before mating, significantly increased the number of weaned lambs and total weight of weaning lambs per ewe exposed to the rams. These findings should be useful in further exploring the frequency and amount of vitamin E supplementation that may improve reproductive performance of ewes.

Plants produce an enormous array of phytochemicals arising from various biosynthetic pathways. More than 200,000 defined structures of phytochemicals have been recognized. The growing concerns over bacterial resistance to antibiotics and chemical residues in animal derived foods have led to use phytochemicals as alternatives to antibiotics, other chemotherapeutic agents, and chemical and growth promoting antibiotic feed additives. Phytochemicals exhibit antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal activities against a wide range of pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms. The antimicrobial properties of phytochemicals are being explored to utilize as feed additives in livestock production system (Patra 2012). One of the plant secondary metabolites which researchers recently focus on beneficial effects is saponins. Saponin-containing plants and their extracts by suppressing the bacteriolytic activity of rumen ciliate protozoa could enhance total microbial protein flow from the rumen. Saponins also have selective antibacterial effects which may prove useful in, for example, controlling starch digestion (Wallace et al 2002). Extract of licorice root can be used to manipulate rumen fermentation due to its saponin content. To date, there are limited research on the effect of plant phytochemicals on ruminal microbial fermentation at low pH. Most research studied the effects of plant phytochemicals on high-forage diets at pH > 6.2. The effects of plant extracts on ruminal microbial fermentation are pH-dependent.Microbial populations and ruminal fermentation conditions in cattle fed high-concentrate diets may be very different from cattle fed high-forage diets, because of the type of substrate being fermented or the resulting pH. Therefore, the search for additives that will help to replace ionophores in high concentrate diets needs to be tested in a high-concentrate and low-pH environment. It was hypothesized that extract of licorice root could exert some antimicrobial activities in low pH. Hence, the objective of this experiment was to study the effect of Licorice extract on in vitro gas production parameters, pH, volatile fatty acids (VFA), N- ammonia concentration and protozoa populations in diets containing different levels of concentrate to forage ratio.

Dried licorice extract obtained from Zagros Company (Kermanshah). Two experimental diets with different forage to concentrate ratio (40 to 60% or 60 to 40 %) were formulated. Licorice extract was added to diets at three levels, 1 or 2 and or 3 milligram /liter of incubation media. The saponin content of Licorice extract was 134.75 mg/g of dired licorice extract. For in vitro gas production, rumen fluid was taken from two rumen fistulated Kordish rams. For measuring gas production, 200 mg of experimental diets with four levels of licorice extract (0, 1, 2 and 3 mg/L incubation medium) were incubated with 40 ml of buffered-rumen fluid for 120 hours. The cumulative produced gas was recorded at different times of incubation and gas production parameters were fitted with Blummel et al equation (2003). Organic matter digestibility (OMD) was estimated after 24 hours of incubation (Menke and Steingass 1988). N-ammonia concentration was measured based Broderickand Kang (1980). Rumen protozoa were identified according to the method of Dehority (2003). After 24 incubation, 5 ml of buffered rumen fluid was pipetted into a screw-capped test tube containing 5 ml of formalin. Thereafter, two drops of brilliant green dye (2 g brilliant green and 2 ml glacial acetic diluted to 100 ml with distilled water) were added to the test tube, mixed thoroughly and allowed to stand overnight at room temperature. Total and differential counts of protozoa were made with five replications. In vitro rumen concentration of volatile fatty acids (VFA) was measured by gas chromatography (Ottenstein and Bartley 1971). All in vitro gas production trials were carried out in three runs. Rumen fermentation parameters, protozoa population and organic matter digestibility date were analyzed in a factorial arrangement based on a completely randomized design and gas production data were analyzed in a factorial arrangement based on a complete randomized block design using Proc GLM of SAS software. The differences among treatments were evaluated using Tukey adjustment when the overall F-test was P ≤ 0.05. Trends were declared when 0.05 < P ≤ 0.10.

The results showed that the interaction of diets and licorice extract levels were not significant on in vitro gas production, rate of gas production, estimated organic matter digestibility N-ammonia concentration, pH, total protozoa population, Entodinium, Epidinium, Diplodinium, Eudiplodinium and Isotricha population and in vitro ruminal concentrations of total VFA, acetate, propionate, butyrate, isobutyrate, valerate and isovalerate. The effect of diets on gas production (P≤0.05) and estimated OMD (p < 0.01) was significant and high concentrate diets in compare to low concentrate diets had greater gas production and greater estimated OMD. Inconsistent to these results, adding saponin to diet containing low level of concentrate decreased gas production (Yogianto et al 2014) and adding saponin to diet containing high level of concentrate increased gas production (Aazami et al 2013). Furthermore, high concentrate diet in compare to low concentrate diet had lower organic matter diegestability (Yogianto et al 2014). Diets containing high concentrate had lower acetate and greater isovalerate concentrations (p < 0.01). Addition of licorice extract reduced estimated OMD and total protozoa population and Entodinium population (p < 0.01) and tended to increase total VFA concentration (P=0.09) and to decrease isovalrate concentration (P=0.06).

Based on this study, it is concluded that different levels of licorice extract had no effect on fermentation parameters of diets containing different concentrate: forage ratios. Further studies are necessary to determine the effectiveness of saponin-containing plants extracts on rumen microbial fermentation and digestion kinetics.

Crop residues such as straws are lignocellulosic by-products which results from crop cultivation. These compounds can be used as carbohydrate and energy sources in ruminant nutrition. The presence of strong physical and chemical bonds between lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose reduces the nutritional value of these materials. Straws produced as cereal by-products are an important feedstuff for ruminants. Howere, they are not preferred by animals due to poor digestibility, low nitrogen and mineral contents. Many of the treatments were conducted to improve the nutritional value of low feed quality including physical, chemical treatments and biological treatments. Several chemical treatment methods have been developed to improve the nutritive value of low quality forages by reducing the concentration of cell walls or increasing their digestion. Alkali treatment is the most widely used method for increasing the degradation of forage cell walls and the main alkalis used are ammonia and NaOH. The underlying principle of the method is partial solubilization of hemicellulose, lignin, and silica and hydrolysis of uronic and acetic acid esters by the alkali (Chesson et al., 1983). Various studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of dry and wet NaOH treatment processes at improving the nutritive value of low quality forages and crop residues (Wanapat et al., 1985; Moss et al., 1990). However, the use of ammonia and other alkalis for forage improvement has been limited by their corrosive nature and the hazards they pose to humans. Recently, several studies showed that the biological treatments of crop residues to improve the accessibility of cellulosic fractions, thus improving their digestibility and feeding value have been attracting the extensive interests. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different processing methods (chemical and biological) on chemical composition, In vitro gas production parameters and digestibility of wheat straw.

wheat straw was prepared from minoodasht city. The following treatments were: 1) untreated wheat straw (control, CON), 2) CON processed with Urea, 3) CON processed with sodium hydroxide, 4) CON processed with hydrogen peroxide, 5) CON inoculated with Aspergillus niger for 21 days, 6) CON inoculated with Trichoderma harzianum for 21 days, 7) CON inoculated with Aspergillus niger for 40 days and 8) CON inoculated with Trichoderma harzianum for 40 days, in a completely randomized design. In order to processing with H2O2, first the samples pretreated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH, 80 g/kg DM) to attain and maintain a pH of 11.5, then 132 ml H2O2 (purity: 35%) were added. Treated samples were then placed into plastic bags, tied up and stored under anaerobic conditions. Then the bags were opened and samples dried by exposure to air. After processing the chemical composition of the samples was determined using the standard methods. In vitro cumulative gas production was determined using 120 ml serum bottles as described by Theodorou et al. (1994). A buffered mineral solution (Menke and Steingass 1988) was prepared and placed in a water bath at 39 ◦C under continuous flushing with CO2. Rumen fluid was collected before morning feeding from three ruminally fistulated steers fed on a forage diet at a concentration of 40:60. In vitro gas production was measured in triplicate on composite samples from the same treatment silos. For each replicate, a sample of 200 mg DM untreated and inoculated corn silage obtained from the d 45 and 90 mini silos were used. The bottles were then filled with 30 ml of incubation medium that consisted of 10 ml of rumen fluid plus 20 ml of buffer solution and placed in a water bath at 39 ◦C. Gas production was recorded at 2, 4, 8, 16 24, 48 and 72 h. Total gas values corrected for blank incubation and gas values expressed in ml g-1 of DM. A pressure transducer and LED digital read out voltmeter were used to measure the headspace gas pressure in the culture bottles. Volumes of gas at the top of the culture bottles were transferred into a syringe by withdrawal of the syringe plunger until the pressure became zero. A medium similar to one developed for gas production was used for batch rumen culture system to measure pH, and NH3-N and in vitro digestibility. The pH of the media was measured after 24 h incubation. After 24 h incubation, the contents of each glass bottle were empty, strained through four layers of cheesecloth and then 10 ml of strained rumen fluid was acidified by 10 ml of 0.2 N HCl for determination of NH3-N using the distillation method. Finally, all contents remaining in the bottles were filtered through nylon bags, oven dried at 60 °C for 48 h and analyzed for IVDMD and IVOMD.

Results showed that there were significant differences among treatments on chemical composition (p < 0.05). The highest and the lowest DM content were related to control treatment and soaked treatments. Sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide treatment's had highest and urea treated wheat straw had lowest Ash content. Processing with two kind of fungi had no effect on chemical composition (p>0/05). Different processing methods had significant effect on potential and rate of gas production (p < 0/05). Soaked and trichodermal treated wheat straw had lowest and sodium hydroxid and hydrogen peroxide had highest gas production potential. Processing with Sodium hydroxid and hydrogen peroxide increased DM and OM digestibility significantly, Howere, Soaked wheat straw had lowest digestibility, PF and microbial crud protein.

Generally, processing with Sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide had more effect on improving the nutritional value of wheat straw.

The purpose of this trial was to investigate the effects of adding Spiralina platensis algae in layer diets on the performance, intestinal microflora and morphology, and some blood parameters. The recent trend in the feed business is currently directed toward the use of natural ingredients as alternativest antibiotics, synthetic colors, and other chemicals. Spirulina platensis algae is one of the high quality natural feed additives that can be used in animal and poultry nutrition. There are two different species of spirulina: Spirulina maxima and spirulina platensis, with varying distribution throughout the world (Oliveira et al, 1999). Spirulina maxima, contains high levels of vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and β- carotene, and up to 71% crude protein with sufficient concentrations of all essential amino acids except for the sulfur-containing ones (Becker, 2004). Spirulina platensis dried supplement has an excellent nutritional profile. It has increased level of protein with values ranged between 55- 65% and includes all of the essential amino acids, high carotenoids, and rich in minerals and vitamins (Ross and Dominy, 1990). Spirulina contains up to 20 percent of phycocyanin, a water-soluble blue pigment and green pigment chlorophyll a, and relatively high content of vitamin B12 (Ciferri and Tiboni, 1985). Spirulina platensis is the source of essential fatty acid, γ-linolenic acid (Abd El-Baky et al, 2003). Spirulina platensis also has minerals, magnesium, manganese, iron, calcium, chromium, copper, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc (Belay, 1997). The available energy content of Spirulina platensis has been determined to be 2.50-3.29 kcal/gr and its phosphorous availability is 41% (Yoshida and Hoshii, 1980).Verma et al (2004) reported that Spirulina platensis inclusion in broiler diet at 1 percent showed profound antioxidant effects in term of increased activity of erythrocyte antioxidant enzymes and decreased serum lipid peroxidation. Hens fed with diets supplemented with varying levels of Spirulina platensis tended to decrease the cholesterol content in the egg yolk of hens (Sakaida, 2003). The addition of 1.5 to 12% of spirulina platensis into the diets for broilers can replace other protein sources given to broiler, especially soybean meal, as the former shows satisfactory growth rates and feed efficiency (Nikodemusz et al, 2010).

A total of 192 LSL hens aged from 26 to 37 weeks were used in a completely randomized design with 4 treatments and 4 replicates and 12 hens per replicate. The treatments consisted of feeding a corn-soybean meal control diet alone or supplemented with 1.5, 3 or 4.5% Spirulina platensis. Cages were ventilated in a way that daily temperature was maintained between 21˚C and 23˚C. Each cage was equipped with feeder and drinker. Feed and water were provided ad libitum. A standard LSL diet was fed, containing (calculated): 17.6% CP, 0.42% Met, 0.82 Lys, 4.1% Ca, 0.6 Available P, and 2770 kcal ME/kg. During the experimental period, a 16-hour lighting schedule was applied. Performance including feed intake, feed conversion ratio, egg production, and egg mass weekly were calculated over the period. After feeding the experimental diets for 12 weeks blood parameters included cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, and LDL were analyzed. In addition, villi height, crypt depth, villi height to crypt depth ratio, epithelium width and villi surface and also intestinal microflora (coliform, lactobacillus and total bacterial population) were measured. Statistical analysis used in this study was performed in completely randomized design using GLM procedure with SAS software and comparison of means by fisher's protected LSD test. A P-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant, unless otherwise stated.

The results showed that experimental treatments had no significant effect on feed intake, feed conversion ratio, egg production and egg mass. According to the present study, Zahroojian et al (2013) reported that egg qualitative and performance traits of laying hens were not affected by diets containing spirulina platensis. In contrast, Shanmugapriya et al (2015) reported that body weight gain and feed conversion ratio increased significantly by adding 1% spirulina platensis to the broiler diet compared to the control treatment. The reason for this discrepant is likely due to the inclusion of different levels of spirulina platensis and the age of the birds used (Bonos et al, 2016). Addition of spirulina platensis to the laying hens diet had no significant effect on cholesterol, triglyceride and LDL, but HDL levels was decreased significantly in third and fourth treatments (p < 0.05). Shanmugapriya et al (2015) reported that in broiler fed 1.5% spirulina platensis and saccharomyces cerevisiae, serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels decreased but HDL levels increased compared to the control treatment. These results are inconsistent with the findings of the present study which may be due to the use of low levels of algae. In addition, the condition of cultivation and processing of algae that are effective in their composition may be another reason for this inconsistency (Gutierrez–Salmean et al, 2015). Experimental treatments had no significant effect on villi height, villi height to crypt depth ratio, villi surface and epithelium width, but the crypt depth was significantly increased in the fourth treatment (p < 0.05). The use of red seaweed algae in brown luhman laying hens diet increased the villi height and crypt depth compared to the control treatment (Kulshreshtha et al, 2014). Also, the use of different levels of spirulina platensis had no significant effect on coliforms, lactobacillus and total bacterial population.

The present findings show that, supplementation of Spiralina platensis by 4.5% in the diet, had no effect on performance of laying hens and high levels of that are likely to needed.

The Artificial insemination technique is based on sperm cryopreservation that induces irreversible damages to sperm (Purdy 2006), which may result in loss of sperm motility, viability, plasma membrane integrity, and ultimately male fertility (Baghshahi et al. 2014). Physical and chemical damages during cryopreservation are associated with significant amounts of production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation of the phospholipids in the membrane by free radicals (Chatterjee et al. 2001). The removal of ROS is catalyzed by antioxidant enzymes such as glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). Numerous non-enzymatic defenses (vitamin C, vitamin E, and glutathione (GSH)) are also employed to provide protection. An imbalance between free radical production and their removal results with ageing allowing progressive damage to occur. Therefore, for protecting the sperm against oxidative damage, numerous researchers have investigated the effects of a various synthetic and natural antioxidants on spermatozoa during cryopreservation processes (Malo et al. 2010). Various plant products contain antioxidant compounds such as flavonoids, tannins, coumarins, xanthons, phenolics, lignans and terpenoids. For this reason, there is a growing interest in using them as natural antioxidants. Several studies have shown that the use of herbal antioxidants during the freezing-thawing process of sperm had positive effects on sperm quality (Daghigh Kia et al. 2016; Vahedi et al. 2018). The herb of costmary (Tanacetum balsamita L.) contains phenolic compounds, such as flavonoids and phenolic acids (Shahhoseini et al. 2019). It has been shown that costmary exhibit antioxidant effects due to phenolic compounds (Bączek et al. 2017).

The aim of current study was to evaluate the effect of Costmary extract as a natural antioxidant on post-thawed ram sperm quality.

This study was performed at the Iranian Moghani sheep Breeding Center located in Jafarabad city, Province Ardebil, Iran. Four mature and fertile rams (3-4 years old, mean live weight of 70±4.2 kg), were used in this study. Ejaculates were collected twice a week for 8 weeks by an artificial vagina (42-43°C). Only samples containing spermatozoa with greater than 70% motility were accepted for experiment. To eliminate individual differences, semen samples were pooled and processed for extending. The pooled ejaculate was diluted (37 ◦C) using egg yolk-citrate extender containing different concentrations of Tanacetum balsamita extract (0, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 16 mL/dL). Diluted semen samples were aspirated into 0.25 ml straws and equilibrated at 4°C for 3 h. After equilibration, the straws were placed on liquid nitrogen (LN2) vapor for 8 min, then plunged into liquid nitrogen, and stored in a liquid nitrogen tank until thawed and used for evaluation of sperm parameters. The frozen straws were thawed individually in a water bath (37 ◦C) for 30 s for evaluation. A computer-assisted sperm analysis (HFT CASA, Hooshmand Fanavar Tehran Co, Iran) was used to analyze sperm motility and velocity characteristics. Sperm viability was assessed using a modification of the eosin-nigrosin staining method described by Evans and Maxwell (1987). Sperm membrane functionality was evaluated using the hypoosmotic swelling test (HOST) (Revell and Mrode, 1994). For the assessment of the sperm morphology abnormalities, at least three drops of each sample were added to Eppendorf tubes containing 1 ml of Hancock solution (62.5 ml formalin (37%), 150 ml sodium saline solution, 150 ml buffer solution and 500 ml bi-distilled water). The prepared slides were assessed by phase-contrast microscopy using a 400× magnification. All data were analyzed by completely randomized design using the GLM procedure of SAS version 9.1 (SAS Institute, 2004).

Samples cryopreserved in 8 and 12 mL/dL Tanacetum balsamita extract had higher total motility and progressive motility compared to the control group (p < 0.05). The percentage of VSL, VCL and VAP were higher (p < 0.05) in the extender containing 8 and 12 mL/dL extract compared to control and 16 mL/dL groups. LIN parameter was higher (p < 0.05) in 8 mL/dL compared to 16 mL/dL extract (46.83±3.82 vs. 40.52±3.23). For parameter STR, the highest value (p < 0.05) was observed at 8 and 12 mL/dL of extract (81.09±7.56% and 80.27±7.18%, respectively). The highest (p < 0.05) percentage of sperm viability and plasma membrane integrity were observed in groups containing 8 and 12 mL/dL extract. Percentage of acrosome abnormality was higher (p < 0.05) in 12 mL/dL extract groups (21.25%) compared to control and 2 mL/dL extract groups (26.70% and 27.23%, respectively). Some studies have reported that herbal antioxidants reduce the free radicals following the freeze–thawing process (Ashrafi et al. 2013). In the present study, treatment of costmary extract resulted in a significant improvement in motility parameters, viability and membrane integrity of frozen-thawed ram sperm. The main constituents found in the herb of costmary extract are polyphenolic compounds, such as flavonoids and phenolic acids (Faraloni, 2018). Among flavonoids there are mainly glycosides of luteolin, apigenin and quercetin while phenolic acids are represented mainly by chlorogenic, caffeic and dicaffeoylquinic acids. The attacks of ROS during cryopreservation lead to reduction of oxygen and it is related to lipids peroxidation of the sperm membranes that destroys the structure of the lipid matrix. Flavonoids increase membranes integrity by preventing of free radicals production and lipid peroxidation in the membrane that induce oxidative damage to the membrane components (Daghigh Kia et al. 2016). Therefore, costmary extract may play a protective role against oxidative damage and scavenge produced free radicals from cells.

In conclusion, this study showed that supplementation of extender with 12 mL/dL Tanacetum balsamita L. extract has a beneficial effect on the quality of frozen-thawed ram semen.

Use of alternative feed ingredients such as tomato pomace for poultry diets is an important factor of successful poultry production in many parts of the world. Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), is one of the popular vegetables that used in food preparations. Commercial processing of tomato produces a large amount of waste named totato pomace that represent one of the energy and protein rich sources. About 10% to 30% of the raw tomato weight becomes waste. Tomato pomace is a mixture of tomato peels, cores culls, pulp, crushed seeds and unprocessed green tomatoes that remain after the processing of tomato for juice, paste, puree, soups and/or ketchup. Tomato pomace is an inexpensive and primary by-product of tomato manufacturing that have been used for poultry nutrition. It consists mainly of the skins, seeds and hard tissues of the whole tomatoes. It is a good source of protein and some amino acids such as lysine, good source of pigments for yolk and meat and a good source of vitamin B and vitamin E but is limited in energy due to the high fiber content. The composition of tomato pomace varies according to agricultural and processing practices, the degree of drying, moisture removal and separation of cellulose. Tomato pomace is recommended for ruminants such as cattle and dairy cow feed due to the ability of these animals to digest fiber. Recently it is used for nutrition of laying and breeder birds.

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of tomato pomace in breeder quails on performance and different organs weights, the quality of newly hatched chicks and the amount of malondialdehyde in meat of progeny. A total of 160 Japanese quail were allocated in a completely randomized design to four treatments of 0.0 (control treatment without tomato pomace), 4, 8 and 12% tomato pomace during five weeks. Each treatment had four replicates (two males and eight females were in each replicate). The diets of breeders and the growing quails was formulated acocording the nutrient requirements of quils (NRC, 1994). Tomato pomace was only fed to quail breeder. Before the experiment, the nutrients contents of both corn and soybean meal were analyzed by near infrared spectroscopy (NIR). The birds had free acess to feed and water during the breeder and growing periods. A lighting schedule of 16L: 8D and 23L: 1D was imposed respectively during the breeder and growing periods. During the week 5 of breeder feeding program, 25 fertile eggs from each replicate (100 eggs from each treatment) were collected for hatchery. The protocol for this study was approved by animal care and committee of the Urmia University. Ten newly hatched chicks were used for determination of chick quality parameters at hatch according the Tuna method. Forty one day old quail chiks from each treatment were divided to four replicate pens and raised for five weeks. At the end of the experiment (day 35 of age), the birds were slaughtered and the weigths of carcass indices and internal organs were determined. Moreover, the breast meat samples were collected and used for determination of malondialdehyde content. All the data were analyzed by SAS (9.1) according the compeletely randomized design with four treatments and four replicates each. Difference among the treatment means were tested for significance using Duncan test (p < 0.05).

The results showed that the consumption of different tomato pomace in breeder quail had no effects on progeny feed consumption, weight gain and feed conversion ratio during the different weeks and whole the period (P>0.05). Althogh there were no difference between the treatments for feed consumption but the quils hatched from the eggs of 8% tomato pomace fed birds had numerically higher feed intake as compared to the other quails. Moreover there were no effects of treatments on internal organs and carcass characteristcs at day 35 of age (P>0.05). No effects of tomato pomace were detected on activity of newly hatched chicks (P>0.05). The down and appearance of newly hatched chicks of quails fed 8% tomato pomace had the highest quality between the treatment groups (p < 0.05). The quality of retracted yolk, eyes, navel area, remaninig membrane and remaining yolk of chicks from the quails fed 4 and 6% tomato pomace was highest and significantly higher than those of chicks from the birds fed the control and highest tomato pomace level (12%) (p < 0.05). The legs of chicks belong to the birds fed the highest tomato pomace level was lowest (p < 0.05) but there was no significant difference between the other treatments for leg quality. The eyes quality of chicks from quails fed 4% tomato pomace was highest whereas the lowest eye quality was related to the chicks of 0.0 and 12% tomato pomace fed birds (p < 0.05). The consumption of all totamto pomace levels caused the decreased breast malondialdehyde content of progeny at week 5 of age (p < 0.05). The breeder quails fed 4 and 8% tomato pomace had the highest decrease in meat malondialdehyde content of progeny as compared to the control birds (p < 0.05).

Totally, consumption of tomato pomace in the diets of breeder quails have no effects on performance parameters of progeny birds. Consumption of 8% tomato pomace in breeder quail improves the body antioxidant status and quality of by newly hatched quality. Higher tomato pomace feeding to quail breeder (12%) increases the dietary fiber and possibly decrease the nutrients bioavailability and hence causes the lower quality of newly hatched chicks.

Bovine theileriosis, caused by Theileria annulata, is one of the most important livestock diseases in the world. The disease is transmitted by Ixodidae ticks and characterized by fever, enlargement of lymphatic glands, cachexia, and death. theileriosis can be detected by staining the blood smear Giemsa dye. The technique is suited the detection of acute infection but not in carrier animals, where infection rate may be little. The aim of present study was to detect T. annulata carrier cattle by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and to compare the results with staining method in the northwest of Iran.

In this study, peripheral blood samples were obtained from 281 apparent healthy cattle (no clinical signs of disease) of different ages (1 to 8 years old). Samples were tested by two techniques of (1) Giemsa staining and microscopy and (2) PCR based on applying the specific primers from the major merozoite-piroplasm surface antigen sequence of T. annulata (Tams-1) gene. A chi-square test was performed to compare the prevalence related to breed and age categories.

In this study, 25 T. annulata positive samples (8.89%) were detected by microscopic method while PCR was able to detect 108 samples (38.43%) for. In positive samples of cattle, the highest prevalence was recorded for 2-5 years old cattle (22.4%). These differences in age results were significant (P<0.05). Out of 108 positive PCR samples, 45 (41.66%) were native and, 63 (58.33%) were crossbreed cattle, yet the difference was statistically insignificant.

Our results showed that there is a high percentage of carrier cows in northwest of Iran and indicate a high potential risk for the infestation of healthy animals and vectors of the disease.