Interest of vitamin E and cholesterol preloaded in cyclodextrins on motility of cryopreserved rabbit semen

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of cholesterol and α-tocopherol, loaded in cyclodextin, on motility of cryopreserved rabbit semen. Rabbit sperm was collected from seven mature bucks. The pooled sperm was initially evaluated and then submitted -prior freezing- to seven dilution treatments. The control aliquot was diluted with Trisbased extender; the six others were treated with Tris-based extenders containing: β-cyclodextrins, cholesterol, α-tocopherol, cholesterol-loaded β-cyclodextrins, α-tocopherol-loaded β-cyclodextrins or a treatment of both complexes. Kinematic motility parameters were assessed by a computer assisted semen analyzer system before and after conventional freezingthawing process. The results showed that both cholesterol and α-tocopherol complexed to β-cyclodextrins improved significantly (p<0.05) the post-thaw kinematic parameters. However, no significant effect was recorded when complexes were simultaneously combined. In conclusion, the present results revealed that the most significant impact on rabbit cryopreserved sperm was observed when cholesterol and α-tocopherol were loaded in cyclodextrins.