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Chilled Storage of Ram Semen Improves with the Addition of Egg Yolk and Glycerol to Milk‐Based Extenders
Author(s) -
Gil J,
Fierro S,
Bentancur O,
OliveraMuzante J
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
reproduction in domestic animals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.546
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1439-0531
pISSN - 0936-6768
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0531.2010.01697.x
Subject(s) - yolk , glycerol , semen , food science , chemistry , andrology , biochemistry , medicine
Contents This study aimed at comparing in vitro , ultra‐heat‐treated (UHT) skim milk and INRA‐96 ® ‐based extenders supplemented or not with 5% egg yolk and/or 2% glycerol on sperm quality parameters along 72 h of preservation at 5°C, using a factorial design. Semen from six healthy mature Merino rams was pooled and extended in each medium using a split sample procedure (six replicates) and chilled. Subjective motility (SM) (%), membrane integrity (MI) (%) and uncapacitated spermatozoa (US) (×10 6 spermatozoa/AI dose) were used to assess the semen quality at 0, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h of preservation. UHT‐based extenders yielded better (p < 0.05) SM and MI than INRA‐96 ® ‐based extenders (59.7% vs 57.9%; 60.2% vs 55.8%, respectively) but similar numbers of US (64.2% vs 62.3 × 10 6 sperm/AI dose, respectively) along the preservation time. Egg yolk–glycerol or just egg yolk as additives improved (p < 0.05) the results compared with the base extenders without additives or just with glycerol. The sperm parameters assessed decline slowly from 0 to 48 h, with a sharp decline (p < 0.05) at 72 h of preservation. In conclusion, UHT and INRA‐96 ® were similar as base extenders, and the addition of 5% egg yolk plus 2% glycerol or just 5% egg yolk improved the quality of ram semen preserved at 5°C, at least for 48 h. The combination of egg yolk–glycerol might provide extra protection in case of fluctuation of temperatures below 5°C, commonly seen under field conditions.