Egg yolk plasma enriched with β-carotene through the diet of laying hens and adding it to the extender improves the quality of frozen semen in Arabic stallions.
Abstract: Equine semen cryopreservation is one of the major procedures for the genetic conservation of rare and endangered genotypes. The current study was conducted to evaluate the effect of egg yolk plasma (EYP) enriched with β-carotene as an antioxidant supplement on INRA-96 extender regarding freezing Arabic stallion sperm. For this purpose, β-carotene various concentrations were utilized as a supplementary ingredient in formulating the diets of laying hens. Birds were randomly divided into four groups, fed with 0 (control), 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg in a supplemented diet with β-carotene. Subsequently, various variants of enriched extender (INRA-96 + 2.5% glycerol [G]) were gained by adding 2% EYP from four treatment groups. The sperm characteristics, including motility, viability, morphology, plasma membrane integrity (HOS test), lipid peroxidation (MDA) and DNA fragmentation, were evaluated after thawing. According to the results obtained in this study, the addition of EYP from T2 and T4 (500 and 2000 mg/kg of β-carotene in hens' diet) to the extender (INRA-96 + 2.5% G) leads to an increase in total motility (50.50% and 49.49%, respectively), progressive motility (32.6% and 31.8%, respectively), viability (68.7% and 66.1%, respectively) and plasma membrane integrity (57.7% and 50.6%, respectively). Moreover, lipid peroxidation (1.3 and 1.4 nmol/mL, respectively) and DNA fragmentation (8.6% and 9.9%, respectively) were diminished using the mentioned treatments. However, sperm morphology was not affected by the treatments. In the current study, we concluded that the optimal concentration of β-carotene in the laying hen's diet (500 mg/kg) could reveal the best results about sperm quality. So, EYP enriched with β-carotene acts as a valuable natural and safe supplementary material that could be exploited for enhancing stallion sperm quality in cryopreservation conditions.
© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Publication Date: 2023-02-27 PubMed ID: 36808661DOI: 10.1111/rda.14334Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Veterinary
- Journal Article
Summary
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This research study explores the impact of adding β-carotene-enriched egg yolk plasma (EYP) to an extender in improving the quality of frozen semen in Arabic stallions. The study suggests the use of β-carotene in hen diets could enhance the quality of stallion sperm for genetic conservation.
Methodology and Experimental Groups
- The study focused on the cryopreservation of equine semen, a practice crucial for preserving rare and endangered genotypes.
- The experiment involved adding EYP, rich in β-carotene, to INRA-96 extender, a substance used to preserve semen.
- Hens were divided into four groups and fed diets containing different concentrations of β-carotene: 0 mg/kg (control group), 500 mg/kg, 1000 mg/kg, and 2000 mg/kg.
- Subsequently, the extender was further enriched by adding 2% of EYP from the four dietary groups, thus creating various β-carotene-enriched variants of the extender.
Semen Analysis and Results
- Sperm characteristics including motility, viability, morphology, plasma membrane integrity, lipid peroxidation and DNA fragmentation were evaluated after freezing and thawing.
- The sperm from the control group and those treated with β-carotene-enriched extenders were compared.
- Sperm exposed to extenders enriched with EYP from hens fed 500 and 2000 mg/kg β-carotene diet showed improved motility, viability, and plasma membrane integrity, indicating better sperm quality.
- Lipid peroxidation and DNA fragmentation in the semen, which are detrimental to sperm quality, were also found to reduce with these treatments.
- The morphology of the sperm was found to be unaffected by the treatments.
Conclusion and Implications
- The optimal concentration of β-carotene was found to be 500 mg/kg in the hen’s diet for obtaining the best sperm quality.
- EYP enriched with β-carotene presents a natural and safe supplement material to enhance the quality of stallion sperm in cryopreservation conditions.
- This research may pave the way to develop optimum diets for hens for producing EYP enriched with beneficial nutrients, which in turn could boost the effectiveness of genomic preservation techniques used in animal conservation.
Cite This Article
APA
Hatami M, Qasemi-Panahi B, Daghigh Kia H, Moghaddam G, Janmohammadi H.
(2023).
Egg yolk plasma enriched with β-carotene through the diet of laying hens and adding it to the extender improves the quality of frozen semen in Arabic stallions.
Reprod Domest Anim, 58(5), 630-636.
https://doi.org/10.1111/rda.14334 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.
- Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.
- Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.
- Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.
- Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Male
- Horses
- Female
- Semen
- Chickens
- beta Carotene / pharmacology
- Cryoprotective Agents / pharmacology
- Semen Preservation / veterinary
- Semen Preservation / methods
- Egg Yolk
- Sperm Motility
- Spermatozoa
- Cryopreservation / veterinary
- Cryopreservation / methods
- Diet / veterinary
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