Objectives:The practice of artificial insemination is now widely utilized in fowl.The present study was designated to evaluate the effect of palmitoleic acid on the quality of rooster semen stored at 40 C. Material and Methods:Semen was collected from ten roosters twice a week.Good quality ejaculates were pooled and after dilution,the semen was enriched with 0 (control), 0.25 (P 0.25)and 0.5 (P 0.5) millimolar palmitoleate. Forward progressive motility and viability and concentrationsof malondialdehyde (MDA) were evaluated in seminal plasma and spermatozoa at 0, 24 and 48h. Results and conclusion:Motility was 77.5±1.04, and 69.5±2.32% at 24h and 49.33±1.36 and 43.00±2.08% at 48h in P0.25 and control, respectively (P<0.02).There were no significant differences in MDA levels of the seminal plasma among groups, while the MDA concentrations of the spermatozoa were lower in P 0.25 and P 0.5 compared to the control group at 24 and 48h (P<0.002). In conclusion, enrichment of rooster semen with palmitoleate would exert beneficial effects on the semen quality during coldstorage.

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