Effect of the acidified extract of Moringa oleifera leaves as a supplement in the in vitro culture medium of sheep preantral follicles

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of the acidified extract of M. oleifera leaves as a supplement into the base medium for in vitro culture of sheep isolated secondary follicles. Follicles were isolated and cultured for 12 days in α-MEM+(supplemented with bovine serum albumin, insulin, glutamine, hypoxanthine, transferrin, selenium, and ascorbic acid) with or without 0.1; 0.2 or 0.4 mg/ml of the acidified extract of M. oleifera. Follicle morphology, antral cavity formation, follicular and oocyte diameter, glutathione (GSH) concentration, mitochondrial activity and meiotic resumption were evaluated. After 12 days of culture, there was no significant difference among treatments in relation to follicular morphology, antral cavity formation, diameter and mitochondrial activity. Nevertheless, oocytes from follicles cultured in α-MEM+ showed greater GSH concentration than media containing M. oleifera extract. Furthermore, the concentration of 0.4 mg/ml M. oleifera extract significantly increased the percentage of fully grown oocyte (≥ 110 µm) when compared to the other treatments. In conclusion, the concentration of 0.4 mg/ml M. oleifera extract as a supplement of the culture medium, maintained the survival, and increased the percentage of fully grown oocytes.