Studies of Royal Jelly continue to reveal existence of its protective properties, as well as its consistent ability to enhance sexual function, from women to men and even rams...
Royal Jelly
improves the sperm parameters of ram semen during liquid storage and serves as
an antioxidant source
SmallRuminant Research 2013, July
Abstract:
The current
study was carried out to investigate the protective effects of the Royal Jelly
(RJ) supplementation on the sperm kinematics, plasma membrane functionality,
the level of produced nitric oxide (NO) and total antioxidant capacity during
the liquid storage of ram semen at 4 °C, for various periods of time (0, 24,
48, 72, 96 and 120 h).
Semen
samples were collected from four rams and pooled, diluted with Tris–egg yolk
extender without RJ (control) or supplemented with different concentrations of
RJ (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2%), at a final concentration of 200 × 106 sperm/mL.
Sperm viability, kinematics and membrane functionality were determined by
nigrosin–eosin staining, computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA), and by using
the hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST), respectively. Additionally, the
oxidative and nitrosative status were evaluated after the RJ supplementation.
The RJ supplementation resulted in a significant (P < 0.05) increase of
sperm viability with the highest increase at 1% RJ concentration for 120 h. A
significant protective effect of RJ on sperm membrane functionality was
obtained at lower concentrations (0.5 and 1%) and in all incubated time points.
The most prominent protective effect of RJ on sperm motility parameters was
found on the progressive velocity (VSL) as after 72 h storage, no significant
reduction was found in comparison to the 50% reduction in the control group.
The produced NO level during storage time was reduced by addition of RJ at low
concentrations (0.5 and 1%).
Our data
suggest that the RJ supplementation at lower concentrations (0.5 and 1%)
improves the ram sperm kinetics and plasma membrane functionality during the
liquid and cold storage. Moreover, the protective effect of RJ might be
attributed to its antioxidative/antinitrosative capacities.
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