Evaluation of zearalenone and α ‐zearalenol toxicity on boar sperm DNA integrity

This study aimed at investigating the in vitro effects of zearalenone (zen) and α ‐zearalenol ( α ‐zen) on motility and nuclear chromatin integrity (NCI) of boar spermatozoa. Mycotoxins were tested, at levels ranging from 10 to 30 µg ml −1 of diluted semen. Four boars were used for semen collection (eight replicates per boar, four per mycotoxin). After the addition of zen or α ‐zen, semen samples were incubated for 4 h at 38.5 °C, 5% CO 2 and 96% humidified air. Motility and NCI were assessed at 0 and 4 h of incubation. No significant differences were noticed in motility among the experimental groups ( P > 0.05) for all tested boars. Chromatin instability was significantly higher ( P < 0.05) in spermatozoa of only one boar treated with zen and α ‐zen independently of the dose. In conclusion, under our experimental conditions, zen and α ‐zen did not affect the motility of boar sperm, whereas the effects of these toxins on sperm NCI were individual‐dependent. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.