Multi-attribute decision-making: Use of scoring methods to choose the best form of dietary fat supplement in pregnant Saanen goats.

BACKGROUND: Nutritional manipulation with functional nutrients like polyunsaturated fatty acids can boost milk production efficiency in dairy farming. It is important to consider the animal's physiological periods, especially the second half of the first pregnancy for mammary gland development. OBJECTIVES: By considering multiple factors and comparing them, multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) can be utilized to conduct further assessments and select the best diet for the animals. METHODS: Forty primiparous Saanen does, from the last 2 months of pregnancy up to 4 months of lactation, have been assigned to four iso-energetic and iso-nitrogenous diets. Four dietary groups included: no external sources of fat (negative control, CT), saturated palm oil (positive control), roasted soybeans (omega-6, SB) and extruded flaxseed (omega-3, FS). Twenty-two performance criteria such as feed intake, milk yield and composition, body weight, blood metabolites and hormones, the milk fatty acid profile, as well as morphological and histological measurements of the mammary gland, in the form of least-square means, were considered. RESULTS: A decision-making tool was used to select the best form of fat supplements in late pregnancy and early lactation diets, to improve lactation performance in Saanen goats. For this purpose, a MADM method was applied to determine the order of preference similarity to the ideal solution. According to the score of this method, the FS group had the highest coefficients (0.689), and the CT group had the lowest coefficients (0.281). CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating flaxseed into the diets of Saanen goats during late pregnancy and early lactation is a valuable strategy for enhancing milk performance. This supplement is recommended as a source of fat. Additionally, the implementation of decision-making tools, such as the MADM method in animal science, can significantly improve management decision-making processes by reducing both time and cost. This presents a new avenue for making well-informed decisions.

The mitochondria-targeted antioxidant "MitoQ" preserves quality and reproductive performance of ram spermatozoa cryopreserved in soybean lecithin-based extender.

Cryopreservation of ram semen is helpful for distributing proved spermatozoa for reproductive goals, but cold shock has destructive effects on fertility ability of frozen sperm cells. This study was performed to investigate the effect of the novel mitochondria-targeted antioxidant "MitoQ" on ram sperm quality and fertility potential during cryopreservation process. Semen samples were diluted in extenders supplemented with 0, 1, 10, 100 and 1000 nM MitoQ and then frozen according to the standard protocol. Motility and velocity characteristics, lipid peroxidation, acrosome integrity, membrane functionality, mitochondria active potential, viability, apoptosis status, DNA fragmentation, ROS concentration and reproductive performance were evaluated after thawing. In results, 10 and 100 nM MitoQ presented higher (P ≤ 0.05) total motility, progressive motility, average path velocity, acrosome integrity, membrane functionality, mitochondria active potential and viability as well as lower (P ≤ 0.05) lipid peroxidation, apoptosis status, DNA fragmentation and ROS concentration compared to the control group and the other treatments. Moreover, after fertility trial, 10 and 100 nM MitoQ resulted in higher (P ≤ 0.05) pregnancy, parturition and lambing rates than control group. Therefore, MitoQ is able to preserve quality parameters and fertility potential of post-thawed spermatozoa in sheep and it could be an effective additive for supplementation of ram's semen cryopreservation medium during reproductive programs.

Changes in the gene expression profile of the mammary gland lipogenic enzymes in Saanen goats in response to dietary fats.

BACKGROUND: The second half of the first pregnancy is a critical period in the growth and development of the mammary gland. The use of functional compounds during this period may positively impact livestock performance. OBJECTIVES: In this study, changes in lipogenic enzyme gene expression in the mammary gland of Saanen goats in response to different dietary fat sources were analysed. METHODS: Goats from four groups (10 each) received these diets from the last two months of pregnancy through four months of lactation: C-, no added fat (negative control group), C+, with saturated palm oil (positive control group), SB, with roasted soybeans (omega-6 group) and FS, with extruded flaxseed (omega-3 group). The fat content was about 4% of dry matter. Milk yield, milk fatty acid profile, milk health index (HI) and gene expression of four lipogenic enzymes in mammary tissue were measured. RESULTS: The FS group had significantly higher milk production with lower omega-6 to omega-3, monounsaturated to polyunsaturated, and total saturated fatty acids compared to other groups. The shorter and longer than16-carbon chain of total milk fatty acid indicates significantly higher values for the C- and C+ groups, respectively. The milk HI for the SB group was significantly higher. The gene expression profile for acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase was higher in the C- group than other experimental groups. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that manipulation of the diet with unsaturated fat supplements improved milk production, synthesis of milk fat and molecular expression of lipogenic enzymes in mammary tissue in primiparous Saanen goats.