Boar freeze-dried semen in medium with antioxidants evaluated based on DNA integrity after a long-time preservation

Abstract

Sperm freeze-drying is considered an alternative method to preserve male gametes in refrigeration or at room temperature condition. In order to preserve sperm integrity special protection is required. The aim of our research was to examine the effect of vitamin C (0.5 mM ) and rosmarinic acid (105 μM) on the DNA spermatozoa integrity after freeze-drying and 36 months of preservation at refrigerator temperature. Our results indicates that more than 90% of DNA boar spermatozoa integrity is not affected by long-time preservation with small differences between experimental groups: with +0.59% higher DNA integrity in AR group from Duroc boar, with +2.83% higher DNA integrity in AR group from Landrace boar and with no differences regarding DNA integrity in group supplemented with vitamin C. The main conclusion of these preliminary results is that DNA integrity of boar freeze-dried semen is not affected by longtime preservation and it can be used further for intracytoplasmatic sperm injection technique.