Lepidium meyenii (Maca) is a plant that has nutritional benefits and increases the effectiveness of male reproduction. In this study, oxidative stress-exposed New Zealand rabbits were used to assess the ameliorative effects of daily Maca ingestion on testicular and epididymal tissues as well as the quality of fresh and frozen/thawed sperm. Twenty-four 40-week-old, healthy New Zealand white male rabbits were divided into four groups. The first group consumed tap water and served as a control. The second group was given 300 mg of Maca daily in capsules. The third group drank water containing hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) at a concentration of 1%. Finally, the fourth group consumed H₂O₂ and Maca daily. The ejaculate volume, sperm concentration, vitality, motility and velocity of the H₂O₂ group were considerably lower than those of the other groups. Frozen/thawed spermatozoa showed more dramatic decreases in motility and velocity as a result of H₂O₂ consumption. The plasma concentrations of testosterone and total antioxidant capacity were also lowest in the H₂O₂-treated rabbits, while malondialdehyde levels were highest. Exposure to H₂O₂ increased collagen deposition between ST and epididymal ducts which induced testicular and epididymis fibrosis. In addition, the spermatogenic and epididymal epithelial cells exhibited signs of apoptosis, degeneration, vacuolation and a reduction in height. Maca intake attenuated most of the damaging effects of H₂O₂ ingestion-induced oxidative stress. Furthermore, H₂O₂-treated rabbits had modest nuclear androgen receptor positivity, unlike those in the Maca group. The number of Leydig cells significantly increased with daily Maca intake. In conclusion, daily intake of Maca improved reproductive performance and mitigated the damaging effects of oxidative stress on testicular and epididymal functions in New Zealand rabbits.

Tonic immobility (TI) test is used to assess the fearfulness of birds. However, its outcomes depend on many factors including the breed, species, and restraining position. This study aimed primarily to evaluate the effect of different restraining treatments on TI parameters in both chickens and ducks. Secondarily, it aimed to identify the associations between various variables measured in this study including body weight, handling time, in duction attempts, and TI response. Two separate experiments were conducted in broiler chickens and mule ducks. TI was performed on ground level in chickens and on a U-shaped cradle in ducks. Briefly, 30 broiler chickens (34 d of age) and 18 mule ducks (55 d of age) were randomly assigned to three restraining treatments: left lateral position (LLP), right lateral position (RLP), and back or dorsal position (DP). The variables measured in both experiments were body weight (BW), handling time, number of attempts needed to induce TI (NOA), and TI duration. In chicken, fewer NOA were needed to induce TI in RLP treatment compared to LLP treatment (P = 0.036), but there was no difference between RLP and DP treatment (P = 0.58) or between DP and LLP (P = 0.67). In ducks, there was a non-significant trend that fewer attempts were needed to induce TI in DP compared to other treatments (P = 0.08). Duration of TI was not affected by restraining treatment in chickens (P = 0.43) nor ducks (P = 0.61). A negative moderate correlation was observed between NOA and BW in chickens (R = - 0.45, P = 0.01), and a positive moderate correlation was observed between TI duration and BW in ducks (R = 0.46, P = 0.05). In conclusion, the RLP was the most effective method to induce TI in chickens on ground level. BW was associated positively with NOA in chickens and negatively with TI duration in ducks