Effects of omega-3 fatty acids on fresh bull semen quality: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), including omega-3, are known toyield health benefits tomammals, including bulls and human beings. This meta-analysis was done todetermine the influence ofomega-3 fatty acids (OMFA) onbull semen quality. The research question formulated for this meta-analysis was centred onthe Population-Intervention-Comparison-Outcome (PICO) framework. Todetermine the influence ofomega-3 fatty acids onsemen quality, ameta-analysis was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. The different effects were analysed using arandom effects model. The variations among the included studies were tested using heterogeneity (I2). Semen volume (MD = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.13; 0.44), sperm concentration (MD = 71.12, 95% CI: 15.97; 126.26), live sperm (MD=11.93; 95% CI: 7.30; 16.55), sperm motility (MD = 9.24, 95% CI: 7.39; 11.09) and plasma membrane integrity (MD = 11.60, 95% CI: 6.30; 16.89) increased dramatically in the omega-3 fatty acid-supplemented group. Notably, the progressive motility (MD = 1.19, 95% CI: –3.24; 5.61) was the only sperm parameter showing a non-significant influence when omega-3 fatty acids were supplemented. It was then concluded that the omega-3 fatty acid supplementation can be used to improve most of the semen parameters in bulls.