Učinak prepartalne primjene vitamina E i selena na reprodukcijske funkcije indijskih jakova (Poephagus grunniens).

Yaks are the main source of livelihood for the highlanders in India as major agriculture is meager in yak inhibiting tracts due to adverse agro-climatic conditions. Under field condition, the reproduction in yak is seasonal which could be due to lack of feed and stress rather than inherent characteristics. The aim of the study was to check efficacy of vitamin E and selenium parenteral administration during late gestation period on postpartal fertility in yak. Altogether 21 yak cows were randomly divided into 3 groups (two treatment groups and controls) with 7 animals each. The animals within both treated group received a commercial preparation containing DL- alpha Tocopheryl Acetate equivalent to Tocopherol (vitamin E) 50 mg/mL and Sodium selenite 1.5 mg/mL intramuscularly. Treated groups received the drug twice in 7 days interval 30 to 40 days prior to calving in the amount of 5 mL and 10 mL in group I and II respectively. The study showed that administration of vitamin E and selenium during late gestation can significantly (P<0.05) improve fertility in group II animals..Jakovi su glavni izvor za preživljavanje stanovništva u brdovitim područjima koja su karakterizirana različitim agro-klimatskim uvjetima i slabom poljoprivrednom aktivnošću. U prirodnim uvjetima jakovi se razmnožavaju sezonski, što je više posljedica pomanjkanja hrane i djelovanja stresa nego nasljednih obilježja. Uvažavajući navedeno, ovo istraživanje je imalo za cilj utvrditi može li jednokratna intramuskularna injekcija antioksidanata (vitamin E i selen) u kasnom prepartalnom razdoblju imati učinke na reprodukcijske pokazatelje jakova. Životinjama je primijenjen komercijalni preparat koji je sadržavao 50 mg/mL DL-alfa tokoferil acetata, ekvivalentan tokoferolu (vitaminu E), i 1,5 mg/mL natrijeva selenita. Pripravak je bio primijenjen intramuskularno, dvokratno u dozi od 5 mL i 10 mL, u razmacima od tjedan dana. Prva aplikacija uslijedila je između 30 i 40 dana prije teljenja. Životinje koje su primile 10 mL pripravka pokazale su statistički značajno (P<0,05) poboljšanje reprodukcijskih pokazatelja. Na osnovi istraživanja može se zaključiti da primjena antioksidanata neposredno prije teljenja može pridonijeti unaprjeđenju reprodukcijskih funkcija u indijskih jakova

Cytotoxic effects of heavy metals on functional attributes of boar sperm: an in vitro study

Objective: Reproductive toxicology is a field that deals with the effects of heavy metals on various aspects of reproduction, including sperm count, motility, viability, spermatogenesis, follicular atresia, hormonal imbalance, and oocyte maturation, among others. The present study was carried out to examine the effects of heavy metals, viz., arsenic (As), lead (Pb), and fluoride (F), on boar sperm quality parameters in vitro.Materials and Methods: Forty (40) ejaculates from six (6) boars, averaging eight ejaculates per boar, were collected with the gloved hand technique using a dummy sow. Six (6) different concentrations were selected for the in vitro study: 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 200 µM for As and Pb, and 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 200 mM for F. The ejaculates were co-incubated with heavy metals at these different concentrations and assessed after different incubation periods (0, 0.5, and 1 h) for sperm functional attributes, viz., sperm progressive motility, viability and membrane integrity, and sperm mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). The combined effects of heavy metals on sperm functional attributes were also evaluated at different doses (5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 200 μM/μM for As–Pb; 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 200 μM/mM for As–F; and 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 200 μM/mM for Pb–F).Results: The present study revealed a highly significant (p &lt;0.001) decrease in sperm progressive motility, viable sperm, membrane integrity, and sperm MMP in samples treated with heavy metals under different incubation periods; furthermore, the longer the incubation time, the greater the toxicity. There was also a significant (p &lt;0.05) decrease in sperm motility, membrane integrity, and MMP in the samples treated with combined heavy metals (As–Pb, As–F, and Pb–F), as compared to the control, after different incubation periods. A significant (p &lt;0.05) reduction in sperm quality attributes was recorded even at the lowest concentrations in the case of heavy metal combinations.Conclusion: It can be concluded that As, Pb, and F are toxic to boar spermatozoa in vitro, causing reductions in sperm functional attributes in a dose- and time-dependent manner

Synthesis of green zinc‐oxide nanoparticles and its dose‐dependent beneficial effect on spermatozoa during preservation: sperm functional integrity, fertility and antimicrobial activity

Introduction: The development of an effective extender is important for semen preservation and the artificial insemination (AI) industry. This study demonstrates the beneficial effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) as an additive to semen extenders to improve semen quality, fertility, and antibacterial activity during liquid preservation in a boar model.Methods: Initially, to find out the safe concentration of ZnO-NPs in sperm cells, a wide range of ZnO-NP concentrations (0, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 μM) were co-incubated with sperm at 37°C for a cytotoxic study. These NP concentrations were compared to their salt control zinc acetate (ZA) at the same concentrations and to a control group. The effect of the different concentrations of ZnO-NPs on sperm motility, membrane integrity, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and apoptosis was assessed. Accordingly, the non-toxic dose was selected and supplemented in MODENA extender to determine its beneficial effect on the boar semen parameters mentioned and the lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels during liquid preservation at 16°C for 6 days. The non-cytotoxic dosage was subsequently chosen for AI, fertility investigations, and the evaluation of the antibacterial efficacy of ZnO-NPs during preservation hours. An antibacterial study of ZnO-NPs and its salt control at doses of 10 μM and 50 μM was carried out by the colony forming unit (CFU) method.Results and discussion: The cytotoxic study revealed that 5, 10, and 50 μM of ZnO-NPs are safe. Consequently, semen preserved in the MODENA extender, incorporating the non-toxic dose, exhibited 10 and 50 μM ZnO-NPs as the optimal concentrations for beneficial outcomes during liquid preservation at 16°C. ZnO-NPs of 10 μM concentration resulted in a significantly (p &lt; 0.05) improved conception rate of 86.95% compared to the control of 73.13%. ZnO-NPs of 10 and 50 μM concentrations exhibit potent antimicrobial action by reducing the number of colonies formed with days of preservation in comparison to the negative control. The investigation concluded that the incorporation of 10 μM ZnO-NPs led to enhancements in sperm motility, membrane integrity, and MMP, attributed to a reduction in the malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. This improvement was accompanied by a concurrent increase in fertility rates, including farrowing rate and litter size, during the liquid preservation process. Furthermore, ZnO-NPs exhibited an antimicrobial effect, resulting in decreased bacterial growth while preserving boar semen at 16°C for 6 days. These findings suggest that ZnO-NPs could serve as a viable alternative to antibiotics, potentially mitigating antibiotic resistance concerns within the food chain

Bovine reproductive immunoinfertility: pathogenesis and immunotherapy

Infertility is one of the primary factors for cattle reproduction in the present scenario. Reproduction-related immunoinfertility mainly involves immunization against the antigens related to reproductive hormones (LHRH, GnRH, Gonadal steroids, PGF2α and oxytocin), spermatozoa, seminal plasma and ovum. Anovulation, delayed ovulation, sperm immobilization, failure of fertilization, prolonged uterine involution, extended calving interval, prolonged post-partum estrus and reduced conception rate could be a result of immunoinfertility that occur due to the blockage of receptor site by antibodies formed against hormones, sperm and ovum. Immunoinfertility can be treated in the animal by giving sexual rest to females, by using various reproductive technologies such as in-vitro fertilization, gamete intra fallopian tube transfer, and intracytoplasmic sperm injection, sperm washing and by treating the animals with immunomodulators such as LPS, Oyster glycogen, etc. This review summarizes the different causes of bovine reproductive immunoinfertility and amelioration strategies to overcome it

Fast protein liquid chromatography profiles of seminal plasma proteins in young bulls: A biomarker of sperm maturity?

Breeding companies want to use semen from bulls as soon as possible to take advantage of their desirable genetics. It takes several weeks for the sperm quality of young bulls to stabilize and for post-thaw sperm quality to become acceptable for artificial insemination. Seminal plasma proteins protect spermatozoa during cryopreservation; it may take some time for the seminal plasma protein profile to stabilize. The purpose of this study was to determine if the seminal plasma protein profile can be used as a marker of likely seminal maturity in young bulls. A comparison was made of the seminal plasma protein profile in the ejaculates of 10 bulls of 9-10 months old (Sample I), with the profiles from ejaculates taken from the same bulls at 13-16 months old (Sample II) using fast protein liquid chromatography. This is a method for separating classes of proteins according to their binding ability. The peak area and peak height of different classes of proteins did not differ significantly between the two samples for each bull, except for peak 5 (heparin-binding proteins) and total peak area (p<0.05). The heparinbinding protein peak height and area were significantly higher (p<0.05) in Sample II than in Sample I. In conclusion, levels of fertility associated heparin-binding proteins increase with age in young bulls and might serve as a biomarker of sperm maturity.

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Annual Report of ICAR-NRC on Yak, Dirang, English VersionNot AvailableNot Availabl

Effect of thawing methods on frozen semen quality of yak (Poephagus grunniens L.) bulls

Abstract Aim: To evaluate different thawing temperatures and duration on the post-thaw semen quality of Indian yaks bulls. Materials and Methods: Semen ejaculates from four different yak bulls were collected using artificial vagina method and extended with tris extender containing 6.4% glycerol at 35°C, cooled gradually from 35°C to 5°C at 1°C/3 min and equilibrated at 4-5°C for 4 h and frozen in French mini straws using a programmable bio-freezer and finally stored in liquid nitrogen.Thawing of frozen semen straws was carried out using three methods i.e., 35°C for 60 s (thawing method I), 37°C for 30 s (thawing method II) and 75°C for 9 s (thawing method III).The post-thaw semen quality parameters assessed were sperm motility, percent live sperm, hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST)-reacted sperm, acrosomal changes, and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities in the extracellular media. Results: The percent sperm motility, total incidence of acrosomal changes, and extracellular release of AST varied significantly (p&lt;0.01) between thawing methods but live sperm and HOST-reacted sperm did not vary significantly between thawing methods.The percent sperm motility of frozen yak semen for thawing method III was significantly (p&lt;0.05) higher than that for thawing methods I and II, the difference between thawing methods I and II being non-significant. The critical difference test revealed that the total incidence of acrosomal changes and extracellular release of AST were significantly (p&lt;0.05) lower when thawing was done using methods I and II than in method III. Conclusion: On the basis of the present experiment, we can conclude that barring the post-thaw sperm motility, thawing of frozen yak semen in water either at 35°C for 60 s or 37°C for 30 s gives better post-thaw semen quality than at 75°C for 09 s

Effect of thawing methods on frozen semen quality of yak (Poephagus grunniens L.) bulls

Aim: To evaluate different thawing temperatures and duration on the post-thaw semen quality of Indian yaks bulls. Materials and Methods: Semen ejaculates from four different yak bulls were collected using artificial vagina method and extended with tris extender containing 6.4% glycerol at 35°C, cooled gradually from 35°C to 5°C at 1°C/3 min and equilibrated at 4-5°C for 4 h and frozen in French mini straws using a programmable bio-freezer and finally stored in liquid nitrogen.Thawing of frozen semen straws was carried out using three methods i.e., 35°C for 60 s (thawing method I), 37°C for 30 s (thawing method II) and 75°C for 9 s (thawing method III).The post-thaw semen quality parameters assessed were sperm motility, percent live sperm, hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST)-reacted sperm, acrosomal changes, and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities in the extracellular media. Results: The percent sperm motility, total incidence of acrosomal changes, and extracellular release of AST varied significantly (p<0.01) between thawing methods but live sperm and HOST-reacted sperm did not vary significantly between thawing methods.The percent sperm motility of frozen yak semen for thawing method III was significantly (p<0.05) higher than that for thawing methods I and II, the difference between thawing methods I and II being non-significant. The critical difference test revealed that the total incidence of acrosomal changes and extracellular release of AST were significantly (p<0.05) lower when thawing was done using methods I and II than in method III. Conclusion: On the basis of the present experiment, we can conclude that barring the post-thaw sperm motility, thawing of frozen yak semen in water either at 35°C for 60 s or 37°C for 30 s gives better post-thaw semen quality than at 75°C for 09 s