Serum trace elements associated with different forms of infertility in rams

Derar, Derar Refaat; Ali, Ahmed; Almundarij, Tariq; Abdel-Elmoniem, Essam; Alhassun, Tamim; Zeitoun, Moustafa

doi:10.2754/avb202695010023

Acta Veterinaria > Archive > 2026, Vol. 95 > Issue 1 > Serum trace elements associated with…

Acta Vet. Brno 2026, 95: 23-30

https://doi.org/10.2754/avb202695010023

Serum trace elements associated with different forms of infertility in rams

Derar Refaat Derar¹, Ahmed Ali¹, Tariq Almundarij², Essam Abdel-Elmoniem³, Tamim Alhassun¹, Moustafa Zeitoun⁴

¹Qassim University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia
²Qassim University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia
³Qassim University, College of Agriculture and Food, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia
⁴Alexandria University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Animal and Fish Production, Alexandria, Egypt

Received April 20, 2025
Accepted March 2, 2026

The main objective of the present study was to investigate the association between the concentration of trace elements and different forms of infertility, genital affections and testosterone concentration of rams in central Saudi Arabia. A total of 54 infertile and 18 fertile rams were used in this study. Infertile rams were admitted to the veterinary hospital at Qassim University, Saudi Arabia for breeding soundness examination. Animals averaged 27.21 months of age, body condition score of 3, and weight of 57.92 kg. Data including owner’s complaint, breeding history, and signalment were recorded. Blood samples were taken immediately upon admission and the animals were examined clinically. Sera of the studied animals were used for the estimation of serum trace elements and testosterone concentrations. The animals were categorized according to their breed (Awassi, n = 27; Najdi, n = 13; Harry, n = 8; Blackhead Persian, n = 6), age (less than 12 months, n = 14; ≥ 12–24 months, n = 16; ≥ 24–36 months, n = 14; more than 36 months, n = 10), form of infertility (impotentia generandi, n = 40; impotentia coeundi, n = 8; lack of sexual desire, n = 6) and affected organ (testicular, n = 22; epididymal, n = 8; spermatic cord, n = 3; penile/preputial, n = 4; idiopathic, n = 17). Results revealed that rams older than 36 months had lower Zn (P = 0.04) than younger ones. Serum Mn, Se, and Zn were lower in infertile rams with different forms of infertility (P = 0.000, P = 0.000, P = 0.02, respectively) and various genital affections (P = 0.0001, P = 0.001, P = 0.02, respectively). It can be concluded that trace elements may be implicated in the pathogenesis of genital affections in infertile rams.

Keywords

Sheep, reproductive issues, testosterone, minerals, fertility.

Funding

The Researchers would like to thank the Deanship of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research at Qassim University for financial support (QU-APC-2026).