Aspiration, slicing, and flushing medium techniques in collecting oocytes of sheep: searching for the best method

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of the techniques of aspiration, slicing, and flushing medium in collecting oocytes on the quantity and quality of oocytes, the average time used for collecting oocytes per ovary, and the volume of the medium used. The material utilized was 274 ovaries from ewes aged 2.5 to 3.5 years and body weight ranging between 25 and 35 kg. This study used a Completely Randomized Design consists of 3 treatments of techniques were aspiration, slicing, and flushing medium. The parameters measured included the average quantity, quality, and weight of oocytes per ovary (right/left), the effect of the techniques of aspiration, slicing, and flushing medium on the quantity and quality of oocytes, and the efficiency of use of medium and time spent to collect oocytes by using aspiration, slicing, and flushing medium techniques. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance. The results showed that the aspiration technique collected the highest percentage (P<0.01) of oocytes quality A (38.49%) compared to the slicing technique (17.93%), and the flushing medium technique (11.71%). In terms of time, the aspiration technique was the fastest (8-10 minutes) compared to the slicing technique (10-12 minutes), and flushing medium technique (13-15 minutes); meanwhile, the aspiration technique was the most efficient technique (1-2 ml) compared to slicing technique (3-5 ml) and flushing medium technique (6-10 ml). In conclusion, the aspiration technique is the best one for oocyte collection from sheep ovaries. This technique proves to be efficient in terms of quantity and quality of the oocytes collected, time to perform, and medium to use.