Seminal Attributes Research Articles

Evaluation of mineral profile, testosterone, antioxidant enzymes and seminal attributes in infertile male dogs supplemented with certain vitamins and minerals

Evaluation of mineral profile, testosterone, antioxidant enzymes and seminal attributes in infertile male dogs supplemented with certain vitamins and minerals

Studies on Fresh and Cryopreserved Seminal Attributes in Beetal Bucks Outside their Breeding Tract

The objectives of the present research were to assess fresh and cryopreserved. seminal characteristics of breeding Beetal buck semen outside of its breeding tract. Semen was collected twice in a week from twelve Beetal bucks for 6 weeks. The mean value of ejaculate volume(ml), mass motility(o-5 scale), progressive motility(%), sperm viability (%), intact acrosome(%), sperm abnormality(%) and plasma membrane integrity(%) were ranged from 0.73 ± 0.08 ml to 1.17 ± 0.27 ml; 4.17+ to 4.67+, 80.83 ± 1.54 to 87.50 ± 2.14; 83.83 ± 0.95 to 90.33 ± 0.80; 87.00 ± 0.86 to 94.67 ± 0.33; 6.83 ± 0.31 to 10.33 ± 0.67 and 59.33 ± 1.52 to 66.67 ± 1.17, respectively. The mean value of post thaw sperm motility, post thaw sperm viability, post thaw acrosome integrity, post thaw sperm abnormalities and post thaw plasma membrane integrity were ranged from 52.50± 1.12 to 66.67 ± 1.67; 60.00 ± 1.24 to 69.67 ± 1.05; 66.00 ± 0.77 to 78.83 ± 2.15; 9.00 ± 0.45 to 12.83 ± 0.60 and 41.50 ± 1.18 to 53.50 ± 1.23, respectively. It was determined that, even outside of the breeding tract, the foundational characteristics of Beetal bucks are within the range defined for other Indian breeds of goat.

Cryopreservation and freezability of epididymal and ejaculated stallion spermatozoa

The aim of the present study was to compare the seminal attributes and freezability of the epididymal sperm recovered from castrated stallions and ejaculated semen collected through artificial vagina from the same stallions previously. The seminal quality parameters viz., viability, sperm morphology, plasma membrane functional integrity, acrosome integrity and mitochondrial membrane potential were studied, and recorded immediately after fresh semen collection/retrieval, before freezing, and after cryopreservation. Similar protocols were followed for freezing the epididymal and ejaculated semen. From the current study, it was observed that the sperm concentration of the epididymal recovered was significantly higher than that of fresh ejaculation. Other seminal parameters in thefresh sample, like total and progressive sperm motility, sperm membrane functional integrity, acrosome integrity and kinematic parameters like VSL, STR, and linearity were similar without any significant differences between both. However, mitochondrial membrane potential, BCF and linearity of the spermatozoa differed significantly between the groups after cryopreservation. From the current study, it can be concluded that the protocols used for cryopreserving the fresh ejaculates can be adopted for freezing the stallion epididymal spermatozoa without causing significant damage and through this method; elite stallion germplasm can be safely cryopreserved and conserved.

Cryopreservation and freezability of epididymal and ejaculated stallion spermatozoa

The aim of the present study was to compare the seminal attributes and freezability of the epididymal sperm recovered from castrated stallions and ejaculated semen collected through artificial vagina from the same stallions previously. The seminal quality parameters viz., viability, sperm morphology, plasma membrane functional integrity, acrosome integrity and mitochondrial membrane potential were studied, and recorded immediately after fresh semen collection/retrieval, before freezing, and after cryopreservation. Similar protocols were followed for freezing the epididymal and ejaculated semen. From the current study, it was observed that the sperm concentration of the epididymal recovered was significantly higher than that of fresh ejaculation. Other seminal parameters in thefresh sample, like total and progressive sperm motility, sperm membrane functional integrity, acrosome integrity and kinematic parameters like VSL, STR, and linearity were similar without any significant differences between both. However, mitochondrial membrane potential, BCF and linearity of the spermatozoa differed significantly between the groups after cryopreservation. From the current study, it can be concluded that the protocols used for cryopreserving the fresh ejaculates can be adopted for freezing the stallion epididymal spermatozoa without causing significant damage and through this method; elite stallion germplasm can be safely cryopreserved and conserved.

In vivo Fertility Assessment of Frozen Thawed Pantja Buck Semen

Background: Pantja is a medium sized, dual purpose Tarai goat breed of Uttarakhand and adjacent area of Uttar Pradesh. Due to the lack of pure breeding buck and uncontrolled cross breeding, population of this breed is reducing continuously. Therefore, for preservation and dissemination of this pure breed, cryopreservation of semen and artificial insemination by using frozen thawed semen can play a crucial role. Methods: Semen samples were collected from four sexually matured Pantja bucks and after preliminary evaluation extended in tris egg yolk based extender. Post thaw semen was examined for microscopical and certain biochemical evaluation. A total 12 does were inseminated and pregnancy diagnosis was conducted at 45 days onwards by ultrasonography. Result: Post thaw seminal attributes were significantly (P£0.01) reduced in comparision to freshly diluted semen. Total six does (50.00%) were pregnant and five (83.33%) of them gave birth to healthy kids. Among these five, three does (60.00%) gave birth to single and two does (40.00%) gave birth to twins.

Effect of Time Interval between the Semen Collection and its Dilution on Seminal Attributes during Semen Cryopreservation in Goats

Effect of Time Interval between the Semen Collection and its Dilution on Seminal Attributes during Semen Cryopreservation in Goats

Optimized addition of nitric oxide compounds in semen extender improves post-thaw seminal attributes of Murrah buffaloes.

Semen dilution and cryopreservation alter the homogeneity of seminal plasma, resulting in a non-physiological redox milieu and consequently poor sperm functionality. Considering the concentration-specific bimodal action of nitric oxide (NO) in the regulation of sperm functions, cryopreservation media supplemented with optimized concentrations can improve the semen attributes. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of adding an optimized concentration of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) in an extender on in vitro semen quality. An aliquot of semen samples (n = 32) from Murrah buffalo bulls (n = 8) was divided into control (C) and treatment (T-I: SNP in extender at 1µmol/L; T-II: L-NAME in extender at 10µmol/L). Fresh semen quality parameters showed no significant difference at 0h except for the structural integrity in the T-II group. Post-thaw semen quality parameters and sperm kinematics using computer-aided sperm analysis (CASA) revealed significantly higher (p < 0.05) cryoresistance in the treatment groups. Viability, acrosome integrity, and membrane integrity were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in both treatment groups; however, the results were pervasive in T-II. Lower abnormal spermatozoa were observed in both T-I and T-II. SNP supplementation led to a significant rise (p < 0.05) in NO, whereas L-NAME reduced the NO concentration in post-thawed samples, which was directly correlated with different sperm functionality and associated biomarkers viz. total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS). It was concluded that the cryopreservation media supplemented with SNP and L-NAME at 1µmol/L and 10µmol/L, respectively, lower the cryo-damage and improve post-thaw seminal attributes.

Impact of seasons and management factors on seminal attributes and frozen semen doses production in Holstein Friesian crossbred dairy bulls

Major problems with frozen semen doses (FSD) production from crossbred dairy bulls are high disposal rates due to unsatisfactory breeding soundness, sub-fertility, poor semen quality, and freezability. The study aims to evaluate, within the same genetic background of bulls, the identification of important non-genetic factors that could significantly influence semen characteristics and breeding ability. Bulls' category (FSD producer vs. no FSD producer) had significantly affected sperm and semen traits. Age significantly affected all semen attributes studied, and quality increased up to five years of age in FSD bulls, in contrast, only two years in Non-FSD bulls. The semen quality index (SQI) of Non-FSD bulls remained inferior lifelong, and five years old Non-FSD bulls SQI was even lesser than that of two years old FSD bulls. Seasons significantly influenced ejaculate characteristics, sperm productivity, and FSD production. Semen quality, sperm output, and FSD production were the highest during summer and lowest in rainy seasons. It was concluded that dependent on season, the age of the bull significantly influenced qualitative and quantitative attributes of semen; age-wise quality improvement was substantial in FSD but negligible in Non-FSD bulls after two years. The study recommended that germplasm harvest from crossbred bulls should be emphasized during the summer and winter seasons for more FSD production. Two-year-old bulls with SQI &lt;50 should be culled immediately because their semen quality did not improve afterward. Adoption of stress amelioration during the rainy season might help increase semen quality and FSD production in crossbred bulls under tropical climatic conditions.

Morphometric study of slaughtered Murrah buffalo bull testis and its correlation with seminal attributes of epididymal semen

Present study was conducted to study the morphometric characteristics of slaughtered Murrah buffalo bull testis and its correlation with seminal attributes of epididymal semen. Total 56 pair of slaughtered Murrah buffalo bull testicles were procured from Allana, slaughterhouse, Arrora, and Mass agro food Pvt. Ltd. Unnao Uttar Pradesh, India; maintained at Deep Frozen Semen Laboratory, College of Veterinary science, and animal Husbadry, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India. Various morphometric parameters of testes and epididymis were analyzed and their correlations with attributes of epididymal semen were evaluated. No significance difference in seminal attributes between 6 h and 12 h after collection of testicles is clearly indicated that semen can be collect up to 12 h after death of animal without any significance loss in quality of semen in Murrah buffalo bull. Significant strong positive correlation among important characteristics (motility, livability and HOS positive sperm) suggests that these test may be used as one of the test for predicting fertility of epididymal semen Murrah buffalo bull.

Correlation of Certain Biochemical Constituents of Seminal Plasma with Semen Characteristics in Pantja Buck

Background: Pantja is a dual purpose indigenous goat breed, reared in Tarai region of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. There is a lack of thorough study about the seminal characteristics of this goat breed. Hence, the present study was conducted to evaluate the level of certain biochemical constituents and their relationship with macroscopical and microscopical semen characteristics in Pantja buck. Methods: A total thirty two ejaculates from four sexually mature Pantja buck were analysed. The ejaculates were evaluated for volume (0.36±0.06 ml), mass activity (4.47±0.22), concentration (3.54±0.13 x 109/ml), individual motility (85.28±1.17%), viability (88.28±0.78%), morphological abnormalities (4.70±0.17%), plasma membrane integrity (86.31±0.62%) and acrosome integrity (94.31±1.05%) by standard semen evaluation protocol. Seminal plasma ALT (18.10±0.45 U/L), AST (124.04±0.86 U/L), ALP (49.98±0.38 U/L), LDH (216.36±1.78 U/L), GSH-Px (10.90±0.21 U/ml), MDA (2.14±0.05 nmol/ml), albumin (2.29±0.03 gm/dl), globulin (2.52±0.02 gm/dl), total proteins (4.81±0.05 gm/dl), calcium (11.07±0.18 mg/dl) and phosphorus (12.34±0.20 mg/dl) were determined spectrophotometrically. Two tailed Pearson’s correlation was applied to check the relationship among the above attributes. Result: A significant correlation was observed among the biochemical constituents of seminal plasma and seminal attributes of Pantja bucks. The selected biochemical constituents also showed significant correlation with each other.

Linseed oil in boar's diet improved in vivo fertility and antioxidant status.

The reactive oxygen species (ROS) which are produced during storage of boar semen are causing oxidative stress and leads to poor fertility. Also, tropical and sub-tropical weather condition adversely impacts the physicomorphological quality and fertility of boar sperm. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of feeding linseed oil to boar on its seminal attributes, sperm kinetics, biomarkers of antioxidant, fatty acid profile of seminal plasma (SP) and sperm and in vivo fertility. Six Hampshire crossbreed boars were fed with 90 ml linseed oil (LIN) whereas six Hampshire crossbreed boars were fed 90 ml canola oil (CON) for 16 weeks. Sperm quality was evaluated (60 ejaculates for each group; a total of 120 ejaculates) for motility, livability, abnormal morphology, acrosomal membrane integrity, hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST) and sperm kinetic parameters by computer assisted semen analysis (CASA) at 0h and at 72 h of storage at 17°C. Biomarkers of antioxidant (glutathione peroxidase; GPx, catalase; CAT, total antioxidant capacity; TAC) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured in SP and serum. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used for the estimation of fatty acid composition of SP and sperm. Boars fed with linseed oil had higher semen volume (p < .01) and more total sperm numbers (p < .01). Feeding linseed oil to boar enhanced seminal attributes (p < .05) at 0h as well as at 72 h of storage. Linseed oil feeding (p < .01) improved biomarkers of antioxidants and significantly (p < .01) lowered the lipid peroxidation in serum and SP. Linseed oil feeding (p < .05) increased the proportion of alpha linolenic (ALA), arachidonic and docosahexaenoic (DHA) fatty acids in SP. The ratio of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids in sperm increased significantly (p < .01) in treatment group. Farrowing rate was significantly (p < .05) higher in treatment group. In conclusion, feeding linseed oil to boar improved the in vivo fertility, enhanced antioxidant capacity and increased the DHA content of SP and sperm.

Genetic Study to Establish the Relationship between Sire Fertility and Daughter Performance Traits among Murrah Buffaloes

Background: Bull fertility assumes a vital part in bovine reproduction. Since selection intensity of bulls picked for breeding programs in dairy industry is high as they can sire extensively larger counts of offspring as compared to their female counterparts. Therefore the present study was designed to establish the relationship between the sire fertility and performance traits of the Murrah buffaloes. Methods: A total of 12898 observations were recorded with respect to routine seminal parameters from 130 Murrah breeding bulls spanning between 1995 and 2019 (25 years). Data consisted of 2161 records of 305 days milk yield (305 MY) and lactation length (LL), 2160 records of lactation milk yield (LMY), 2155 records of peak milk yield (PMY), 1905 records of average fat percentage (FP), 1542 records of service period (SP) and 1914 records of conception rate (CR) have been utilized for the current study. Breeding values with respect to 33 Murrah buffalo bulls were taken for the correlation studied and for further ranking of the sires. Result: Average mean values of seminal parameter viz. ejaculated volume (EV), colour (Col), consistency (Con), log sperm concentration (LSC), mass activity (MA), initial motility (IM) and Post-Thaw Motility (PTM) were as 3.25±0.01 (ml), 3.50±0.01 (0-5 scale), 2.52±0.04 (0-5 scale), 3.11±0.01, 2.25±0.01 (0-5 scale), 64.22±0.15 and 38.62±0.19 (%) respectively. The arithmetic means of LMY, 305 MY, PY, LL, FP, CR and SP were calculated to be 2343.33±17.77, 2142.13±13.77, 12.57±0.06, 328.41±2.11, 7.39±0.01, 0.52±0.09 and 166.36±2.75, respectively. The sire rank correlation between the seminal attributes and performance traits was ranged between -0.57±0.15 (ejaculate volume and lactation milk yield) and 0.49±0.16 (semen consistency and lactation milk yield). Association between the fertility using routine semen quality parameters would be helpful to assess the bull fertility which lead to the improvement in the herd fertility.

Effect of seasons and photoperiods on seminal attributes and sperm morphology in Holstein Friesian × Sahiwal crossbred dairy bulls.

Cattle being non-seasonal breeding species, effects of photoperiods on sperm traits and morphology had been reported inadequately in breeding bulls. To elucidate the plausible existence of effects of photoperiods and seasons, seminal traits of Holstein Friesian × Sahiwal crossbred dairy bulls (N = 557) were analysed using different statistical models. A present study revealed that the biological rhythm of reproduction oscillated almost in parallel to the annual changes of natural photoperiods even in non-seasonal breeding species like cattle bulls. Semen traits diminished to the lowest in winter solstice (WS ± 45days), progressively increased with the rising day length of spring (vernal equinox ± 45days), reached a peak in summer solstice (SS ± 45days), and then gradually reduced with decreasing photoperiod of the autumn equinox (AE ± 45days). From summer solstice to winter solstice, sperm concentration reduced by 90.53 million/ml (8.85%), total sperm count/ejaculate decreased by 785 million (13.87%), total motile sperm count/ejaculate reduced by 17.59%, and total post-thaw motile sperm counts/ejaculates diminished by 38.64%. In short-duration photoperiods (≤ 12h), bulls had a significantly (P < 0.01) higher incidence of major, minor, tail abnormality and total aberrant sperm% compared to that of long-duration photoperiods (> 12h). Solstice equinox-based seasonal classification provided better insight into photoperiodicity on bulls' semen quality and sperm traits as compared to conventional meteorological classification of seasons. It was concluded that photoperiods affect sperm productivity, semen quality, and sperm morphology in non-seasonal breeding species like dairy bulls, maintained at transitional latitude (29° N) tropical climate. Bulls' reproductive ability was more influenced by the phases of increasing/decreasing day length duly primed by climax/trough of photoperiods, compared to mere long/short duration of photoperiods.

Effects of Heterologous Bovine Seminal Plasma-Supplemented Egg Yolk-Based Extender on Cryosurvivability of Pantja Buck Semen.

The present study was conducted to observe the effects of removal of seminal plasma of Pantja buck semen and supplementation of bovine seminal plasma (BSP) in the extender before cryopreservation. In a preliminary experiment, different levels of BSP were supplemented (1, 3, 5, 7, and 9% v/v) in egg yolk (7.5% egg yolk)-tris (EYT) extender and used for cryopreservation of Pantja buck semen. Results in terms of motility, viability, plasma membrane integrity, acrosome integrity, and lipid peroxidation showed that 5% BSP was suitable for maintaining Pantja buck semen quality during cryopreservation. In the final experiment, pooled semen from four Pantja bucks was split into three aliquots (I, II, and III). Aliquot I was directly diluted in EYT extender and grouped as the control (C); aliquot II and III were washed separately with TALP solution and diluted as D1 (Washed semen with EYT extender) and D2 (Washed semen with EYT extender containing 5% BSP), respectively. Seminal attributes (sperm individual motility, viability, plasma membrane integrity, acrosome integrity, and total morphological abnormalities) were assessed at the postdilution, postequilibration, and post-thawing stages. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration, and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity were measured at post-thaw. Washed semen significantly improved (p < 0.05) seminal parameters at post-thaw compared with unwashed semen (control). A significant difference (p < 0.05) was observed in seminal attributes between freezing stages and between dilution groups. Significantly higher (p < 0.05) post-thaw sperm motility, viability, plasma membrane integrity, acrosome integrity, and GSH-Px activity, and significantly lower (p < 0.05) MDA concentration and extracellular release of enzymes (ALT, AST) were observed in group D2 compared with control and D1. The results of the present study demonstrated that cryopreservation of washed Pantja buck semen diluted with 5% BSP-supplemented EYT extender can improve post-thaw semen quality.

Time Dependent Impact of Reactive Oxidants on Seminal Attributes, Mitochondrial Membrane Potential, Lipid Peroxidation and Capacitation-Like Changes of Karan-Fries (KF) Bulls During Cryopreservation

BACKGROUND: Cryopreservation of semen is a valuable technique; however, it is also known to be detrimental to the structure of spermatozoa and fertility due to cryo-injury and subsequent generation of reactive oxidants. OBJECTIVE:To determine the time-dependent impact of reactive oxidants on seminal attributes, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), lipid peroxidation status (LPO) and early capacitation like changes. MATERIALS AND METHODS:Semen samples were collected by artificial vagina technique from six Karan-Fries (KF) bulls and subsequently examined at 0 h (before cryopreservation) and at 24 hours, 15 days and 2-months of storage for various seminal attributes, MMP (Δψm) , and early capacitation-like changes. Simultaneously, LPO (TBARS) was determined in fresh and post-thaw seminal plasma. RESULTS: A sharp decrease (P&lt;0.01) in semen quality was observed only after 24 h of cryopreservation except for viability and acrosomal integrity. Sperm viability and acrosome integrity reduced significantly up to 2 months of cryopreservation. The lipid peroxidation status was found to be lower in fresh seminal plasma (2.63±0.22 vs. 3.51±0.34 units/mL) as compared to post-thaw. Furthermore, the active Δψm of fresh semen showed a significant (P &lt;0.01) decrease after 24 hours (77.92±0.387 vs. 54.52±0.28%) of cryopreservation, while there was a non- significant decrease in active MMP after 15 d and 2-months (53.68±0.138 and 52.76±0.16%). Moreover, significant (P &lt;0.01) early capacitation-like changes were found in post-thaw spermatozoa (25.72±0.12 vs. 9.1±0.19%) as compared to fresh ejaculate. CONCLUSION: Spermatozoa incur the majority of damages during the early phase of cryopreservation, however the damage associated by different stressors cannot be neglected.

Determination of osteopontin and antioxidant concentrations from epididymal fluids in mongrel dogs

The extracellular matrix phosphoprotein, Osteopontin (OPN) has been found in tissue fluids and organs, including the male reproductive tract. The vesicular gland and the ampullary region in the male reproductive system have been documented to secrete OPN, a 55 kDa fertility associated protein. The objective of this study was to quantify OPN and antioxidant concentrations in different epididymal sections in mongrel dogs. Current results showed a significantly (p&lt;0.01) higher concentration of OPN in cauda epididymal fluid than in the caput. Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and Catalalse (CAT) concentrations were also higher in the cauda epididymal segment than in the caput. To the author’s best knowledge, this is the first report on quantification of OPN levels in the epididymal fluid harvested from the different sections of epididymis. Further studies should focus on correlation and association of this protein from the different epididymal segments with seminal attributes.

Effects of Linolenic Acid supplementation on Seminal Attributes of Labrador during in-vitro Storage at 4°C

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the probable effects of the linolenic acid addition in different levels to the Tris based egg yolk plasma (T-EYP) extender in Labrador dog semen on spermatozoa quality during storage of semen at 4°C for 0, 24,48 and 72 hours. The collected semen from all dogs was mixed together and diluted with T-EYP. The diluted pooled semen was divided into 5 treatments (T). T1 was a control group without any linolenic acid addition. For T2 to T5 groups 0.5 ng/ml , 1.5 ng/ml, 2.5 ng/ml and 3.5 ng/ml linolenic acid were added respectively. Treatments were evaluated for sperm motility, sperm viability, morphological defect, acrosome integrity and membrane integrity after 0, 24, 48 and 72 hours of incubation at 4°C. The evaluations of spermatozoa immediately after semen collection, were revealed no significant differences among values of treatment groups, whereas after incubating the treatments for different spans of time, the sperm progressive motility and viability rates for groups supplemented with linolenic acid were significantly (P&lt;0.05) higher than that of the control group. Motility, viability and acrosome integrity were higher in 2.5ng/ml linolenic acid concentration. According to the results of this study we conclude that, the most excellent level of linolenic acid for supplementation to the extended semen of dog in order to improve the sperm motility and viability plus to reduce the morphological defect rates of the spermatozoa up to 72 hours storage time at 4°C is 2.5 ng/ml.

Sexual Behaviour and Seminal Attributes Associated with Fertility of Jaffarabadi Buffalo Bulls

Background: The selection of breeding bulls based on the association of sexual behaviour, seminal attributes and conception rate are more important and economical. However, information on association of sexual behaviour and seminal attributes with fertility in buffaloes particularly with reference to Jaffarabadi buffalo bulls is meager. Methods: The study was carried out to assess the association of sexual behaviour and seminal attributes with first service conception rate (FCR) of Jaffarabadi buffalo bulls. A total of 192 semen ejaculates were evaluated and cryo-preserved. First AI conception rate (FCR) was carried out on 800 Jaffarabadi female buffaloes inseminated with frozen-thawed semen and pregnancy was confirmed by per rectal palpation at 2 months post-insemination. Result: The results indicated that both sexual behaviour and seminal attributes were associated with fertility in Jaffarabadi buffalo bulls.

Supplementation of caffeine to extender improves post-thaw seminal attributes of Poitou donkey semen

The current study was conducted with an objective of elucidating the effect of addition of various levels of caffeine to jack semen on seminal attributes at pre- and post-thaw stage. Six ejaculates from each three adult jack stallions were collected via artificial vagina using estrus jenny as dummy. Caffeine was added to semen extender at 0.1, 0.5 and 2 mM at pre-freeze stage and the semen was cryopreserved according to standard protocol. Sperm motility, viability and other functional attributes were assessed at pre-freeze and post-thaw stages. The present study revealed that, adding caffeine to jack semen extender at 0.1 mM, 0.5 mM or 2 mM levels had positive impact on seminal parameters compared to the control semen. Sperm kinetics (VAP, VSL and STR) and motility increased in the caffeine treated groups in comparison to the control group. The caffeine at 2.0 mM concentration resulted in better post-thaw sperm motility, viability, and acrosome integrity as compared to 1 or 0.5 mM of caffeine and control. Caffeine supplementation also enhanced post-thaw sperm kinematic parameters, which implies its potential as an alternative antioxidant supplement. It was concluded that, 2 mM caffeine supplementation to donkey semen significantly improved post-thaw sperm motility and other functional attributes as compared to the control. However, the potential benefits of caffeine on the fertility rates needs to be investigated.

Seminal attributes of Vechur bulls (Bos indicus), the smallest humped dairy cattle

The study was undertaken at Mattupatti semen station to objectively evaluate the seminal attributes of frozenthawed semen of Vechur bulls, the smallest humped dairy cattle in the world, using the computer assisted semen analyzer (CASA) and Flow cytometer. The mean motility and progressive motility of the frozen-thawed semenestimated via CASA was 77.25±9.56 and 64.0±4.21% respectively. Mean values obtained for the sperm kinetic parameters like path velocity (VAP), progressive velocity (VSL), track speed (VCL), lateral head amplitude (ALH),beat cross frequency (BCF), straightness (STR) and linearity (LIN) were 82.56±12.12, 76.22±10.38, 107.77±21.42, 4.39±0.91, 20.87±3.81, 92.37±3.25 and 72.87±6.64% respectively. Flow cytometry analysis of the functional sperm parameters like sperm viability, live sperms with intact acrosome, sperms with normal mitochondrial membranepotential (MMP) and sperms with altered DNA were 81.67±4.55, 76.16±9.76, 82.40±5.61 and 11.75±0.3% respectively. The mean value of the HOS reactive sperms was 71.81±5.71%. Mean values for the length and width of the sperm head, length of mid-piece, tail and overall sperm length measured by computer image analysis was 8.99±0.36, 5.07±0.23, 14.21±0.35, 45.12±1.53 and 68.32±1.41 μm respectively. Study concluded that seminal attributes of Vechur bulls could be estimated with CASA and Flow cytometer and the parameters were comparable to other indigenous, crossbreds and exotic dairy cattle.