Testicular Morphometry, Gonadal and Extra gonadal sperm Reserve of Uda Rams fed with graded levels of Moringa oleifera leaves

Jashilagari  stephen; innocent damudu peter; kabir  ibrahim; aliyu  jibril; zainab bukola yusuf; muhammad aminu umaru; victoria adam maina; adewale ayodeji adeyeye

doi:10.5455/JRVS.20241206011707

Abstract
Aim: We evaluated the effects of graded levels of Moringa oleifera on testicular morphometry, gonadal and extra gonadal sperm reserve in rams.
Methods: Twenty post pubertal Uda rams aged between 12-18 months were randomly assigned into treatment (n=15) and control (n=5) groups. The treatment group were given graded doses (3, 6 and 9 g/kg of feed) of Moringa oleifera leaves daily for 126 days while the control group were given normal feed without Moringa oleifera leaves for the same duration of time.
Results: The result shows that significant changes (p<0.05) were observed for testicular weight between the control group and the Moringa oliefera fed groups. There was also no significant differences (p>0.05) between testicular and epididymal weights and lengths, testicular diameter, Sperm concentration in caput and corpus epididymis as well as within the testis between the control group and Moringa oleifera fed groups. A Significant difference (p<0.05) was seen in sperm concentration in the cauda epididymis between the control group and the Moringa oleifera fed groups.
Conclussion: This study therefore shows that Moringa oleifera is safe to use in breeder rams orally at 3, 6 and 9g/kg as the plant has the ability to significantly improve testicular weight and extragonadal semen concentration, which are both good indices of a breeder male.

Key words: Fertility, Moringa oleifera, Ram, Sperm reserve, Testicular morphometry.