ABSTRACT

1. Excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) production during the sperm freeze-thawing process leads to membrane lipid peroxidation, DNA damage, and motility loss.

2. This study examined the effect of supplementation of Beltsville poultry semen extender with different concentrations of quercetin (and antioxidants) on the cryopreservation of rooster sperm.

3. Semen samples were collected from six Ross broiler breeders via abdominal massage twice a week for 4 weeks (eight replicates), and were divided into five equal aliquots to be diluted in Beltsville extenders that contained different concentrations of quercetin: 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 mM. Motility, membrane functionality, abnormal morphology, lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial activity, viability, apoptosis status, and fertility potential were assessed post thaw.

4. The addition of 10 and 15 mM quercetin to the semen extender significantly increased the total motility, straight-line velocity (VSL), and sperm membrane functionality compared with the other groups (P ≤ 0.05). Moreover, 10 mM quercetin caused higher progressive motility (34.86 ± 3.80%), curvilinear velocity (VCL; 175.11 ± 3.20 µm/s), average path velocity (VAP; 44.35 ± 11.06 µm/s), viability (59.14 ± 1.36%), mitochondrial activity (80.14 ± 2.07%), lower abnormal morphology (19.21 ± 0.45%), and lower lipid peroxidation (2.7 ± 0.13 nmol/ml) compared with the other groups (P < 0.05). The rate of fertility and hatchability after artificial insemination was not affected by experimental groups.

5. In conclusion, supplementation of Beltsville extender with 10 mM quercetin could be a suitable method to improve post-thawed rooster sperm quality resulting in better freeze/thaw characteristics.

摘要

1.精子冻融过程中产生过多的活性氧（ROS）会导致膜脂过氧化、DNA损伤和运动性丧失。

2. 本研究考察了添加不同浓度槲皮素（和抗氧化剂）的贝尔茨维尔家禽精液稀释剂对公鸡精子冷冻保存的影响。

3.通过腹部按摩从六只罗斯肉​​种鸡收集精液样本，每周两次腹部按摩，持续 4 周（八次重复），并分成五等份，在含有不同浓度槲皮素的贝尔茨维尔稀释剂中稀释：0、5、10 、15 和 20 毫米。解冻后评估运动性、膜功能、异常形态、脂质过氧化、线粒体活性、活力、细胞凋亡状态和生育潜力。

4. 与其他组相比，在精液稀释剂中添加 10 和 15 mM 槲皮素显着提高了总活力、直线速度（VSL）和精子膜功能（P ≤ 0.05）。此外，10 mM 槲皮素引起更高的渐进运动性 (34.86 ± 3.80%)、曲线速度 (VCL; 175.11 ± 3.20 µm/s)、平均路径速度 (VAP; 44.35 ± 11.06 µm/s)、活力 (59.14 ± 1.36%) 、线粒体活性（80.14 ± 2.07%）、异常形态降低（19.21 ± 0.45%）和脂质过氧化（2.7 ± 0.13 nmol/ml）低于其他组（P < 0.05）。人工授精后的受精率和孵化率不受实验组的影响。

5. 总之，用 10 mM 槲皮素补充 Beltsville 稀释剂可能是改善解冻后公鸡精子质量的合适方法，从而获得更好的冷冻/解冻特性。