A preliminary study on the effect of dietary supplementation with cod liver oil on the polyunsaturated fatty acid composition of boar semen

Eight mature Norwegian Landrace boars, of proven fertility and in routine semen production for AI, were fed individually with the same basic diet for 9 weeks. One group of 4 animals served as the control, the remaining 4 boars received a daily supplement of 75 ml cod liver oil (CLO-group). Fifteen consecutive semen samples were collected from each boar. The fatty acid composition of the semen was determined, and the content of the 15 most numerous fatty acids with a chain length longer than 12 carbon atoms was followed over time. In both groups, the proportion of 16:1n-7 decreased significantly, while 16:0 and 22:6n-3 (DHA) increased. By the end of the experiment, DHA had tended to increase and 22:5n-6 to decrease to a greater extent in the CLO-group. A significant difference between the groups was seen for one n-6 PUFA (22:4n-6), which remained unchanged in the control group but decreased in the CLO-group. No change was seen in docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-3) and eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3) was not found in any sample. These results indicate that CLO supplementation affects the fatty acid composition of boar semen. There were no significant differences in the non-return rates (4-25 days) between the two groups before, during or after the experiment.