Lipid mixtures (from a liposome kit) and melatonin improve post-thawed Angora goat sperm parameters

Abstract

Semen freezing and storing has been widely used in reproductive biotechnology, being applied to certain males of livestock breeds or animal species with economic value such as the Angora goat. The development of a semen extender with the cryoprotective agents can prevent the deterioration of sperm parameters after thawing. This study aimed to investigate lipid mixtures (from a liposome kit, Lps) and melatonin (Mel) at different doses to prevent the deterioration of sperm parameters and to provide the cryoprotective effects on sperm DNA. The Angora goat ejaculates were collected and pooled. They were divided into seven equal volumes, and each of them was diluted with the extenders of the experimental groups with additives (Lps 321.99 μg/mL, Lps 841.33 μg/mL, Mel 0.25 mM, Mel 1 mM, Lps 321.99 μg/mL + Mel 1 mM, Lps 841.33 μg/mL + Mel 0.25 mM) and no additives (control group). After the freeze-thawing process, motility, viability, acrosome integrity, DNA double-strand breaks, and abnormal DNA integrity were assessed for different extender groups. It was determined that the use of Lps alone at low dose or the combination of Lps and Mel had significant cryoprotective effects on motility, viability, acrosome integrity, and DNA damage in Angora goat sperm. This study will help us to understand the effects of Lps and Mel used alone or in combination at different doses and which doses give the optimum spermatological parameter rates following the freeze-thawing process, and hence it will shed light on further studies.