A preliminary study on the use of jenny colostrum to improve quality in extenders for freezing donkey semen.

This research study conducted preliminary tests on the use of jenny colostrum in improving the quality of frozen donkey semen. The study finds that using an extender supplemented with jenny colostrum can enhance the qualities of donkey sperm post the freezing and thawing process.

Objective of the Study

• The main aim of this study was to investigate the potential of using jenny colostrum (female donkey’s first milk after giving birth) as an extender (a substance used to preserve and dilute semen) to improve the quality of frozen donkey sperm.

Methodology of the Study

• Semen was collected from five fertile donkeys and then pooled together.
• The collected semen was then diluted and preserved in three different extenders: BotuCrio, a lactose-extender supplemented with egg yolk (20%), and a lactose-extender supplemented with jenny colostrum (20%).
• After thawing, several aspects of the sperm were then evaluated including: sperm motility, using a computer-assisted analysis, and viability, using SYBR-14 and propidium iodide (PI).
• The functional integrity of the sperm membrane was assessed using the HOS-test while acrosome integrity was checked by using isothiocyanate with peanut agglutinin (FITC-PNA) and PI.

Results of the Study

• The research showed that the lactose-extender supplemented with jenny colostrum delivered substantially higher values in almost all parameters compared to the samples with the other two extenders. The measured parameters included Total Motility, Viability, HOS test, VCL, VSL and VAP.
• However, while the acrosome status, LIN, STR and WOB showed lower values, none of these were statistically significant (p > 0.05), suggesting that these sperm characteristics were not significantly affected by the use of the extender that contained jenny colostrum.

Conclusion

• The study concluded that the extender containing jenny colostrum can be successfully used to preserve donkey sperm. Moreover, this extender significantly improved the quality of the donkey sperm after the freezing-thawing process.