Effects of arginine and trehalose on post-thawed bovine sperm quality

Abstract

The present study was conducted to examine the protective role of arginine and trehalose on post-thaw bull sperm and oxidative stress parameters. Five ejaculates for each bull were used in the study. Each ejaculate, split into three equal aliquots and diluted at 37 °C with base extenders containing 2 mM arginine, 25 mM trehalose and no antioxidant (control) was cooled to 5 °C and then frozen. Frozen straws were thawed in a water bath for evaluation. Supplementation of the semen extender with arginine decreased the percentages of post-thawed subjective motility (29 ± 8.21%), CASA motility (12.2 ± 5.69%) and progressive motility (3.52 ± 2.13%), compared with the controls (43 ± 2.73%, 55.4 ± 6.78% and 33.48 ± 4.14%, respectively, P < 0.05). Supplementation of the semen extender with trehalose produced a higher mitochondrial activity and sperm viability (36.3 ± 3.99% and 44.1 ± 2.18%) compared with the control (13 ± 8.15 and 31.7 ± 3.94%, respectively, P < 0.05). It was established that trehalose (95.1%) and arginine (92.8%) protect DNA integrity compared to the control (90.4%) (P < 0.05). Trehalose supplementation in semen extenders provided great benefit in terms of viability, mitochondrial activity, and intact sperm DNA on frozen-thawed bull sperm.

Membrane stability and mitochondrial activity of bovine sperm frozen with low‐density lipoproteins and trehalose

“…Another supplement that has shown promising results in frozen semen is trehalose; several studies have shown that this disaccharide positively affects post‐thawing semen motility, acrosomal and plasma membrane integrity and overall viability (Hu et al, ; Shiva, Jagan, & Atreja, ), as well as increasing mitochondrial activity and keeping DNA intact (Öztürk et al, ). The effect of trehalose can be explained by its ability to promote dehydration (Aisen, Quintana, Medina, Morello, & Venturino, ) or interact with membrane biomolecules (Bucak et al, ).…”

Cryobiology and Cryopreservation of Sperm

“…Öztürk et al studied the effect of arginine and trehalose on bovine sperm samples in their study. Trehalose showed higher (50.5% subjective, 64.7% CASA) motility than arginine (29% subjective, 12.2% CASA) when compared to the control group [71]. Uysal and Bucak studied rapid (10°C/min from 5 to −25°C, 50°C/min from −25 to −130°C) and slow (0.5°C/min from 5 to −25°C, 50°C/min from −25 to −130°C) cooling rates with different doses of trehalose (0, 50, 100, 150 mM), and investigated sperm motility, survivability, membrane integrity, and morphologically abnormal sperm rates after thawing.…”

Optimizing Bull Semen Cryopreservation Media Using Multivariate Statistics Approaches

“…Ethylene glycol and NGF had the most unfavorable impacts on total and progressive motility, respectively ( Table 4 ), while glycerol and trehalose had the most favorable results. The cryoprotective effects of glycerol and trehalose on the motility parameters of bull sperm have been shown in different studies [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]. In contrast, Foote et al [ 29 ] discovered that trehalose did not increase the fertility of bull sperm frozen in whole milk.…”

“…The correlation coefficients between the manifest and corresponding latent variables were lower than 0.5 for the melatonin variable in the antioxidant block, the tris variable in the basic compounds block, and the egg yolk variable in the extracellular protectant block ( Figure 7 ). Öztürk [ 27 ] pointed out that freezing extenders containing modest concentrations of cryoprotectant combined with trehalose reduced the sensitivity of ram spermatozoa to cryopreservation and osmotic damage.…”