Effects of dietary supplementation with astaxanthin and β-carotene on the semen quality of goldfish (Carassius auratus).

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of two carotenoids (astaxanthin and β-carotene) on the sperm quality of goldfish Carassius auratus (Linnaeus, 1758). For this purpose, six diets containing concentrations of 50, 100, and 150 mg/kg of synthetic astaxanthin and β-carotene were added to a basic carp diet. One group of fish was also fed with a control diet (no added carotenoids). Osmolality, spermatocrit value, and sperm concentration significantly increased in the treatment supplemented with 150 mg/kg of astaxanthin (296.6 ± 1.1 mOsm/kg; 29.2 ± 0.6%; 17.2 ± 0.4 × 10 9 cells/mL, respectively) and β-carotene (295.2 ± 2.1 mOsm/kg; 32.5 ± 1.6%; 17.9 ± 0.5 × 10 9 cells/mL, respectively). The highest concentration of astaxanthin (10.4 ± 1.4 mg/kg) was recorded in the treatment of A 150 (P < 0.05) and did not differ between β-carotene treatments. The highest motility was observed in the A 150 and B 150 treatments, and the lowest was observed in the control group (P < 0.05). The artificial fertilization of the treated males with the similar females (fed with the control diet) showed that the fertilization rate in the A 150 treatments was higher than in the other treatments (P < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary supplementation with 150 mg/kg of astaxanthin improves osmolality, motility, fertilization rate, and sperm concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]