Adição de extrato de açaí ao diluente de criopreservação do sêmen de touros.

Abstract

The cryopreservation process of sperm cells is a important biotechnology in the field of animal reproduction since it allows the fast spread from males of high genetic merit. Nevertheless, the spermatozoa are exposed to negative effects that affect on structure and functionality, mainly due to the excessive production of reactive oxygen species during the process. Moreover, there are sensitivity differences among individuals concerning the resistance of the cells, that is, they cannot resist to the same resistance to freezing. Therefore, several antioxidant substances have been added to the diluent media used in the preservation of semen. We evaluated the outcome of the addition of açaí extract to bull semen cryopreservation diluent with respect to kinetics, morphology and plasma membrane integrity of sperm cells. The sperm samples were collected from five bulls whose spermatozoa had a history of low tolerance to the cryopreservation process. The samples were distributed between the control subset (to which açaí extract was not added) and the rest, which were added with açaí extract in the proportions of 5, 10, 15 or 20mg/mL of diluent during the freezing process. The sperm alterations presented a linear decreasing response to the addition of açaí extract. In the analysis by epifluorescence, the plasma membrane integrity was higher after the addition of açaí extract to the cryopreservation diluent. The açaí extract did not influence the kinectics of the spermatozoa. The addition of açaí extract to the freezing diluent allows a better preservation of the structural integrity of the plasma membrane of spermatozoa in semen with low tolerance to the cryopreservation process.