Congelación de semen porcino: resultados y avances en la técnica

Abstract

The freezing process of boar semen produces changes in the integrity of the membranes, which may vary according to the profile of fatty acids to medium composition. The objective of this study was to determine possible individual variations in the seminal quality during the freezing process in boar semen and the responses to changes in the environment, such as the use of different gradients of the cryoprotectant or in vitro inclusion of antioxidants. When the effect of the treatment (temperature according to the freezing steps) was analysed, it was observed a marked decline in seminal quality for most parameters (motility, percentage of live spermatozoa and with normal acrosomes, P < 0.001). Individual variations showed a trend towards an effect on motility, even though it was not significant (P < 0.2). The best values of seminal quality were obtained with the use of 4 % of glycerol and 0.5 % of sodium dodecyl sulphate. The addition of a natural antioxidant based on lycopene in vitro in samples obtained during cryopreservation conferred a protective effect because major unsaturated fatty acids were not affected by the process of peroxidation.