Vitamin E and Fertility in the Poultry Birds; Deficiency of Vitamin E and its Hazardous Effects

Abstract

Vitamin E is found in high quantities in vegetable oils and has multiple functions in humans and animals including egg production, egg fertility, hatchability, sperm motility and transport, conception rate and post natal growth. Its main function is to protect cells from oxidative stress. Various studies have reported that vitamin E deficiency causes reduced fertility in humans and avian species. However, very fewer studies have addressed the effects of the supplementation of vitamin E and its deficiency on the fertility of domestic animals, especially poultry. Therefore, our aim was to thoroughly explore the effects of the supplementation of vitamin E on the fertility of poultry birds in order to understand the beneficial role of vitamin E in the maintenance of sperm and egg qualities. The available findings suggest that a moderate amount of vitamin E supplementation in poultry nutrition significantly protects sperm and egg quality in male and female birds respectively, via decreasing the lipid peroxidation in sperms/semen and eggs. This review may provide important scientific information to better understand the effects of vitamin E supplementation on fertility functions in the avian species.