Livestock Studies 2022, Vol 62, Num, 1     (Pages: 031-036)

The Effect of Zinc Supplementation on Plasma Melatonin and Kisspeptin Levels in Rams

Halil Harman 1 ,Behiç Serpek 2

1 Bahri Dagdas International Agricultural Research Institute, Konya, Türkiye
2 Selcuk University, Veterinary Faculty, Department of Biochemistry, Konya, Türkiye
DOI : 10.46897/livestockstudies.1120128 - The study that researched the effect of zinc added to the rations of rams on kisspeptin and melatonin levels was conducted on 2 years old 12 Kivircik crossbreed rams (6 control, 6 experimental) for 1 year. In addition to the ad libitum dry alfalfa straw, it was given mixed feed (barley, salt and vitamin-mineral mixture as standard) supplemented with 25 mg/kg/ DM ZnO, for the control group and 125 mg/kg/ DM ZnO for experimental group per day. During the study, blood samples were taken once a month and kisspeptin and melatonin levels were measured with ELISA in plasmas obtained from blood samples. Melatonin levels were found to be between 62.8-164.5 ng/L in experimental group and 22.1-105.9 ng/L in control group. Kisspeptin levels were determined to be between 209.8-514.2 ng/L in experimental group and 92.6-356.6 ng/L in control group. Zinc supplementations showed numerical increases in kisspeptin and melatonin levels but because of the individual variations, no statistical significance was found (P > 0.05). Keywords : Kisspeptin Melatonin Zinc Ram