Abstract
As defence against oxidative stress, living syste ms employ antioxidants that they either produce or take up from the environment. Among these lutein has been shown to be a powerful antioxidant that also functions as a signal molecul e. The goal of this study was to establish the influence of several lutein concentrations on swine embryo development in vitro, in order to improve culture media. Pig oocytes were cultured for 45 hours at 37°C in 5 % CO 2 atmosphere; in M199 containing several lutein (2.5, 4, 5, 8, and 10 µM) concentrations . Then, they were fertilized in TALP medium using spermatozoa capacitated by centrifugation and incubated for 16-18 hours. Afterwards, the presumed zygotes were cultured in NCSU-23 droplets supplemented with lutein (2.5, 4, 5, 8, and 10 µM) in the same conditions. Their development was assessed at 48 and 120 hours. The number of embryos that had developed to the 2 cells, 4-8 cell s and morula stages was compared to the control, and the differences analyzed using the analysis of variance and interpreted using the LSD and Duncan tests. Lutein (2.5 µM) supplementation has a benefi cial effect on embryo development to the morula stage. This is apparent at 48 hours as well as 120 hours.
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