Calendula officinalis Linn. commonly known as marigold has long history of usage by the folklore system. It has a high economic value as herbal medicine and is widely used in cosmetics, perfumes, dyes, pharmaceutical preparations and food products for centuries. The plant has been approved for food use and appears in the food and drug administration (FDA) list of generally recognized as safe (GRAS) substances. The literature available for the comprehensive review study were taken from the different worldwide accepted scientific database, journals, books for botanical description, pharmacological properties and ethno-botanical uses of C. officinalis Linn. Natural products containing calendula either as extract or oil are complex mixtures containing hundreds of biologically active constituents such as carotenoids, flavonoids, saponins, sterols, phenolic acids, lipids, amino acids, carbohydrates, etc. These phytoconstituents have wide applicability in food and cosmetic industries besides their therapeutic applications viz. as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcer, anti-proliferative, antiparasitic, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic and wound healing potential in experimental and clinical trials. Being useful therapeutic agents in their own right, an understanding of these traditional medicines has provided new plant derived drug leads to modern medicine for therapeutic application.

This investigation was carried out with the objective to study the effect of antioxidant semen additive ascorbic acid on cryopreservation of semen. Semen samples (n=10) from mature cattle bull stationed at Frozen semen laboratory, U.T. of Jammu & Kashmir, Hukkal, Jammu, were used to evaluate the effect of ascorbic acid additive at post-dilution and at post thaw stage. The semen sample was extended with Tris-Egg-Yolk-Citric-acid-Fructose-Glycerol (TEYCAFG) extender and were split into two groups: Group 1: TEYCAFG without any additive/ control and group 2: TEYCAFG + Ascorbic acid (5mM). Progressive motility, live spermatozoa, acrosomal integrity, sperm abnormality, hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST) was evaluated at both post-dilution and post-thaw stage. Whereas, oxidative stress tests viz. malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were evaluated at only post-thawed stage. Group 2 i.e. ascorbic acid group, showed significant (p<0.05) increased live spermatozoa, acrosomal integrity and HOST positive spermatozoa, while significant (p<0.05) decreased sperm abnormalities in post-thawed semen. In oxidative stress evaluation the MDA level was significantly (p<0.05) decreased, whereas, SOD levels significantly (p<0.05) increased in group 2 in comparison to control group. It was concluded that addition of ascorbic acid (5 mM) as semen additive improves semen quality and minimize oxidative stress to the spermatozoa during cryopreservation of semen.

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