Vet World Vol.17 April-2024 Article - 15
Research Article
Veterinary World, 17(4): 863-870
https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2024.863-870
Effect of melatonin supplementation on sperm quality parameters and expression of antioxidant genes during cold storage of buck semen extenders
1 Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Animal Husbandry, Universitas Padjadjaran, Jl Raya Bandung-Sumedang KM 21, Sumedang, West Java, Indonesia.
2 Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Animal Science, Universitas Sebelas Maret, Surakarta. Indonesia.
3 Department of Reproduction Biotechnology, Faculty of Animal Science, Universitas Andalas. Limau Manis, Pauh, Padang, West Sumatera, Indonesia.
4 Working Group of Genetic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran, Jatinangor, Jl Raya Bandung-Sumedang KM 21, Sumedang, West Java, Indonesia.
5 Department of Bioresources Technology and Veterinary, Vocational College, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
6 Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical, IPB University, Bogor, West Java, Indonesia.
Background and Aim: Semen storage is an important reproductive method used in artificial livestock breeding. However, oxidative stress during storage reduces the quality of sperm. Melatonin supplementation in semen storage medium has not been well studied, but it has been shown to protect cells from oxidative stress. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effect of melatonin supplementation on sperm quality parameters and antioxidant gene expression levels in semen extenders during cold storage.
Materials and Methods: Semen extenders with melatonin concentrations of 0 (control), 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 mM were added as treatment. The treated semen was then stored at 5°C for 72 h using a cold storage method, and quality parameters, including percentage of progressive motility, membrane integrity, intact acrosome, and DNA integrity, were measured every 24 h. In addition, messenger ribonucleic acid abundance levels of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) genes were sampled after 0 and 72 h of cold storage.
Results: All observed sperm quality parameters decreased with increasing cold storage time; however, 0.2 mM melatonin demonstrated superior protection of sperm quality during cold storage. Gene expression analysis showed that GPx levels decreased significantly (p < 0.05) after 72 h in semen without melatonin but not in the melatonin-treated groups. A similar trend was also observed in SOD, indicating that exogenous antioxidants effectively protected the sperms.
Conclusion: Melatonin supplementation at 0.2 mM in semen extenders during cold storage maintains sperm quality parameters for up to 72 h because melatonin protects sperm from oxidative stress. These findings can be used to improve the semen storage protocol by combining semen extender and antioxidant.
Keywords: antioxidant gene expression, melatonin, semen cold storage, sperm quality.
How to cite this article: Widyastuti R, Prastowo S, Jaswandi J, Lubis A, Setiawan R, Ridlo MR, and Boediono A (2024) Effect of melatonin supplementation on sperm quality parameters and expression of antioxidant genes during cold storage of buck semen extenders, Veterinary World, 17(4): 863-870.
Received: 2023-12-07 Accepted: 2024-04-02 Published online: 2024-04-19
Corresponding author: E-mail:
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2024.863-870
Copyright: Widyastuti, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/ publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
