Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Animal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #315232
Title: Effect of alpha-lipoic acid on boar spermatozoa quality during freezing-thawing

Author
item SHEN, TAO - Northwest Agricultural & Forestry University
item JIANG, ZHONG-LIANG - Northwest Agricultural & Forestry University
item Li, Congjun - Cj
item HU, XIO-CHEN - Northwest Agricultural & Forestry University
item LI, QING-WANG - Northwest Agricultural & Forestry University

Submitted to: Zygote
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/6/2015
Publication Date: 6/23/2015
Citation: Shen, T., Jiang, Z., Li, C., Hu, X., Li, Q. 2015. Effect of alpha-lipoic acid on boar spermatozoa quality during freezing-thawing. Zygote. p. 1-7(2015).

Interpretive Summary: Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is known as a natural antioxidant. This study examined its cryo- and antioxidant protective effects on frozen-thawed boar sperm for the artificial insemination of sows. The artificial insemination results showed that pregnancy rate and litter size were significantly higher when ALA at 6.0 mg/ml concentration was added to semen extenders. We concluded that ALA conferred a protective capacity for spermatozoa during the process of freezing-thawing and the optimal concentration of ALA for the frozen extender was 6.0 mg/mL. This information is useful for improving the success rate of artificial insemination in swine.

Technical Abstract: Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is known as a natural antioxidant. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the cryoprotective effect of ALA on the motility of boar sperm and the antioxidant effect of ALA on boar sperm during freezing-thawing. Different concentrations (2.0, 4.0, 6.0, 8.0, and 10.0, mg/mL) of ALA were added to the extender used to freeze boar semen, and the effects on the quality and endogenous antioxidant enzyme activities of frozen-thawed sperm were assessed. The results indicated that the addition of ALA to the extender resulted in a higher percentage of motile sperm post-thaw (P < 0.05). The activities of superoxide dismutase, lactate dehydrogenase, glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase, and catalase improved after adding ALA to the extender (P < 0.05). The artificial insemination results show that pregnancy rate and litter size were significantly higher at 6.0 mg/mL in the ALA group than in the control group (P < 0.05). In conclusion, ALA conferred a cryoprotective capacity to the extender for boar spermatozoa during the process of freezing-thawing, and the optimal concentration of ALA for the frozen extender was 6.0 mg/mL.