Current and alternative trends in antibacterial agents used in mammalian semen technology.

Caio Sérgio Santos,Alexandre Rodrigues Silva

doi:10.21451/1984-3143-ar2019-0111

Abstract

The use of antibacterial substances as additives in extenders for ensuring the sanitary quality of the semen employed in reproductive biotechniques and preserving it from bacterial deterioration has been reported since the mid-twentieth century. However, the deleterious effects of these drugs on the sperm quality as well as their effectiveness in controlling bacterial growth in the preserved semen have been questioned. The aim of this review was to report the antimicrobials primarily used in the extenders added to the semen of mammals, and to present alternatives to their use. Among the various mammalian species, there is a large variation regarding the antimicrobial types added to semen extenders as cephalosporins (ceftiofur, cefdinir, eg) and quinolones (ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin), alone or in combination with large action spectra substances as penicillin-streptomycin and gentamicin-tylosin-lincomycin-spectinomycin. To combat problems related to bacterial resistance to these drugs, the emergence of alternatives is increasingly evident. Among these alternatives, use of physical methods as centrifugation and filtration, as well as the use of antimicrobial peptides and other substances from different origins have been highlighted for presenting antimicrobial potential.

Highlights

Reproduction plays an important role in ensuring the efficiency of animal production (Woelders et al, 2012), maintaining their biodiversity, and supporting the conservation programs of vulnerable or threatened species (Costa and Martins, 2008)
Assisted reproductive techniques such as artificial insemination (AI) associated with semen technology allow the preserved male genetic material to be used in females that are isolated from the males
This review aims to report the main antimicrobial agents added to mammalian semen extenders and the factors related to their effectiveness, as well as presenting alternatives to their use

Summary

Introduction

Reproduction plays an important role in ensuring the efficiency of animal production (Woelders et al, 2012), maintaining their biodiversity, and supporting the conservation programs of vulnerable or threatened species (Costa and Martins, 2008). This information was recently contradicted by Price et al (2008) that reported that the addition of small amounts of gentamicin (250 μg/mL) reduced bacterial growth and improved the sperm motility, velocity and viability in the stallion semen stored at 15 °C up to 96 h, compared to that of the control, which did not contain any antibacterial substance.

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Results

Conclusion