Comparison of the effects of glutamine and an amino acid solution on post-thawed ram sperm parameters, lipid peroxidation and anti-oxidant activities

Ram Semen contains sufficient quantities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and much lower concentrations of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) and catalase (CAT) to prevent oxidative damage. The anti-oxidant capacity of the sperm cell is limited, due to a small cytoplasmic component, which contains these anti-oxidants to scavenge the oxidants. However, the concentration of these anti-oxidants may decrease considerably by the dilution of the Semen. The aim of the present work was to Study the effect of two anti-oxidants, namely, glutamine and all amino acid Solution (BME) in a Tris-based extender on ram sperm parameters, lipid peroxidation and anti-oxidant capacity after the cryopreservation/thawing process. Ejaculates collected from 4 Akkaraman rains were evaluated and pooled at 37 degrees C. Semen samples which were diluted with the tris-based extender containing glutamine (2.5 or 5 mM), BME (13 or 26%), and no anti-oxidants (control) were cooled to 5 degrees C and frozen in 0.25-ml French straws and stored in liquid nitrogen. Frozen straws were thawed individually at 37 degrees C for 20s in a water bath for evaluation. The freezing extender supplemented with 5 mM glutamine led to higher motility rate (68.0+/-4.4%) and hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST) (64.1+/-5.5%). when compared to glutamine (2.5 mM) and BME (13 and 26%) (P < 0.05). No significant differences were observed regarding sperm motility and HOST, following the Supplementation of the freezing extender with glutamine 2.5 mM and BME (13 and 26%) after thawing. CAT activity remained significantly higher following the addition of glutamine 5 mM (6.4+/-0.9 kU/g protein), compared to the other treatments (P < 0.01). The anti-oxidants at different levels were not effective in the elimination of malondialdehyde (MDA) formation and maintenance of SOD activities, when compared to the control (P < 0.05). Findings showed that glutamine (5 mM) supplementation ill Semen extenders, was of greater benefit to frozen-thawed ram sperm. Future efforts are needed to find the appropriate anti-oxidants and their effective concentrations to improve post-thaw sperm parameters (e.g. motility, membrane integrity, fertility) and anti-oxidant activities when frozen-thawed ram sperm is used. Crown Copyright (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved