Ameliorative effect ofbee products oninvitro maturation ofsheep oocytes.

Abstract

The present study was undertaken toinvestigate the possible stimulating effects ofNigella sativa (N.sativa) honey, natural Saudi Sider honey, and honeybee pollen tothe invitro maturation (IVM) medium ofsheep oocytes ontheir subsequent development. Hence, immature oocytes were exposed tovarious concentrations ofnatural Nigella sativa (N.sativa), and Saudi Sider honey (5, 10, and 20%), aswell ashoneybee pollen (1, 10, 50μg/ml) during aninvitro maturation period (24hours). After the exposure time, the maturation rate, glutathione (GSH) concentration, and candidate gene expression (GDF-9, MPF, CMOS, IGF-1, and BAX) were evaluated. Our results showed that the maturation rate was higher inthe groups challenged with the lowest level ofthe bee products (5%and 1μg/ml) when compared with that inthe control group; where the mean number ofoocytes inthe metaphase IIstage reached 0.360 for the honeybee pollen-treated group, 0.293 for the N.sativa-treated group, and 0.203 for the natural Saudi Sider honey-treated group. The glutathione level was significantly increased inthe group exposed toN.sativa honey when compared with the other groups. Concerning the gene expression results, theSaudi Sider honey treatment showed the best results for all the genes except the CMOS gene, which was significantly higher than the GI and GII groups and lower than the GIV group and the BAX gene which did not show asignificant difference when compared with the other groups. Inconclusion, the addition ofnatural honey and honeybee pollen atalow concentration toan IVM medium improved the invitro maturation rate, increased theglutathione level, and gene expression ofthe invitro matured ovine oocytes.