Evaluation different levels of soy lecithin on in vitro preservation of turkey sperm

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tehran. Karaj. Iran

2 Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Urmia University

Abstract

This study was conducted in order to investigate different levels of soy lecithin in semen diluent on the qualitative characteristics of turkey sperm in in vitro storage conditions. Semen samples were collected from five heavy turkeys of the French bronze breed at the age of 36 weeks. After initial evaluations (more than 70% dilution), they were mixed together and divided into four equal parts, and each part was diluted with one of the following diluents: 1) Control medium (10% egg yolk), 2) medium containing 1% lecithin, 3) medium containing 2% lecithin, 4) medium containing 3% lecithin. Different sperm parameters including total and progressive motility, integrity and plasma membrane activity were evaluated 3 hours after storage at 4°C. According to the obtained results, egg yolk-based medium and medium containing 2% lecithin showed the highest percentage of total motility (77.5%). Egg yolk-based medium showed the highest percentage of progressive motility (61.5%). However, there was no significant difference with other treatments. The results of the membrane activity showed that the treatment containing 2% lecithin showed the highest percentage with a significant difference compared to other treatments (85%) (P<0.05). Also, the evaluation of sperm viability and morphology was not affected by the treatments. Therefore, it seems that the egg yolk-based medium and the medium containing 2% soy lecithin reduce the negative effects of in vitro storage of turkey sperm at 4°C.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Extended Abstract

Interduction    

    Genetic improvement of important agricultural species and disease control are of fundamental importance in the sustainability and progress of the food and agriculture industry. In the animal industry, artificial insemination is the most important assisted reproduction technique to improve the production of livestock products. The breeding of industrial turkeys in recent years has caused it to become a large and active industry in terms of providing a significant part of the protein resources needed by the country. In our country, for the dilution of semen and artificial insemination of turkeys, huge costs are spent annually on importing these extenders from France and Germany, which has increased the cost of artificial insemination in addition to foreign currency outflow from the country. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate different levels of soy lecithin on the in vitro storage of turkey sperm.

 

Materials and methods

     In order to prepare media containing lecithin, soybean lecithin was added to the Tris-based buffer at a temperature of 25 °C. Then, for 30 minutes, using a shaker, the samples were well mixed and uniform. To make the diluent based on egg yolk, the individual amount of the diluent with 10% egg yolk was added to Tris buffer and mixed gently. Evaluation of total motility, progressive motility and sperm motility patterns were evaluated using a computerized sperm evaluation system (CASA, Video Test Sperm 2.1 Russia). Sperm viability was evaluated by eosin-nigrosin staining method.

Results and Discussion

       In this experiment, the quality of turkey sperm was compared with a diluent containing different levels of soy lecithin and egg yolk. The evaluations included sperm motility and movement characteristics, membrane integrity, membrane activity and sperm morphology after 3 hours of sperm storage at 4°C. Each of the obtained results will be examined below. The overall results and sperm speed parameters are shown in Table No. 1. The results of these evaluations showed that the total viscosity in 2% lecithin diluent and egg yolk based diluent had no significant difference (77.5 ± 9.8). Also, the progressive side was higher in the diluent based on egg yolk (61.5±12.3), but it was not significantly different from other treatments (P<0.05). In terms of speed parameters, no significant difference was observed between different treatments.

The aim of this study was to evaluate different levels of lecithin in the diluent and compare it with the diluent based on egg yolk. The results of gel parameters showed that egg yolk-based diluent and diluent containing 2% lecithin showed the highest gel percentage. Also, the diluent based on egg yolk had the highest percentage of progressive laterality. It has been reported that the percentage of chicks and the fertility rate of rooster sperm were higher in semen containing 1% soy lecithin and 20% egg yolk plasma. Also, supplementation of rooster sperm diluent with 1% soy lecithin and 20% egg yolk plasma resulted in higher frozen-thawed sperm quality. It has been reported that long-term incubation of sperm in laboratory conditions can have harmful effects on fertility and DNA integrity by oxygen radicals produced by white blood cells, bacteria and dead sperm in semen. On the other hand, it is difficult to maintain the quality of turkey semen after storage in laboratory conditions, and this problem worsens with the aging of the animals. Studies have shown that the use of a diluent based on 2% soy lecithin nanoparticles can be a suitable alternative to the diluent based on egg yolk in goat sperm freezing. In a study, the sperm of BUT and hybrid strains were diluted with Beltsville Poultry Semen Diluent (BPSE) and the motility, viability and integrity of the sperm membrane were evaluated in 3, 24 and 48 hours of storage at 5°C. The results of this study showed that during 3 hours of storage, the hybrid strain was higher in quality and survival, but in 48 hours after storage at 5°C, there was a significant difference between different strains in terms of survival and Side effects were not observed.

Conclusion

      The results of the evaluations in this research showed that the diluent based on egg yolk and the extender containing 2% lecithin were able to maintain the quality of turkey sperm after the in vitro storage process at 4°C for 3 hours.

Conflict of interest

The author declares no conflict of interest.

References

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Iranian Journal of animal Science
Volume 56, Issue 3
September 2025
Pages 479-487

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History

  • Receive Date: 29 October 2024
  • Revise Date: 01 January 2025
  • Accept Date: 24 February 2025

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