Effect of Pyruvate on Motility of Spermatozoa from Different Stallions After Storage at 5°C for pp to 72 Hours

Date of Graduation

Spring 2003

Degree

Master of Natural and Applied Science in Agriculture

Department

College of Agriculture

Committee Chair

Gary Webb

Abstract

Many stallions produce semen which greatly decreases in fertility when cooled. The reactive oxygen specie, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), is the most detrimental to equine spermatozoa and causes lipid peroxidation. Validation of the success of pyruvate to combat the affects of lipid peroxidation may provide information leading to the development of seminal extenders that could improve or maintain the motility of cooled semen. Four experiments were conducted to assess motility of spermatozoa in extenders with pyruvate after storage at 5°C for 24, 48, and 72 hours. In some experiments, the spermatozoa were challenged with H₂O₂ in an effort to analyze the protecting affect of pyruvate. In experiment I, the motility of the spermatozoa in the treatment with pyruvate levels of 2.0 mmol were 61% and significantly higher (P<0.05) than that of spermatozoa in other treatments at the 24 hour level. In experiment II, spermatozoa of treatments with 6.0 mmol pyruvate were numerically higher in percent motility as compared to spermatozoa in treatments without pyruvate after 24 hours of storage to 5°C. In experiment III, motility of spermatozoa stored in SKMG/TL with pyruvate was numerically higher than that of spermatozoa stored in the same extender without pyruvate. Experiment IV concluded that pyruvate may be a protecting agent against low levels of 0.1, 0.3, and 0.6 mmol H₂O₂ for up to 72 hours of storage.

Subject Categories

Agriculture

Copyright

© Clay A. Cavinder

Citation-only

Dissertation/Thesis

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