The influence of various rates of royal jelly enriched extenders on frozen/thawed sperm quality and fertility in goats

Abstract

The goal of this study was to detect the influence of royal jelly (RJ) as a strong antioxidant supplement at different concentrations (0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1%) in TRIS egg yolk (TEY) and TRIS soybean lecithin (TSL) extenders, on semen quality and fertility. Sperm was collected from 5 Damascus bucks via an electro ejaculator during the breeding season. After dilution and cooling, the lowest motility and membrane integrity were detected in TEY- 1RJ, in terms of abnormal spermatozoon rate (P<0.05). Also, osmolality decreased significantly when the RJ ratio increased (P<0.05). After freezing-thawing, the lowest sperm quality was detected in the 1% RJ groups of both extenders. In terms of intact acrosome ratio, the highest value was recorded in the 0.50% RJ group in TEY and TSL diluents (P<0.05). Fertility assessments were conducted on 150 goats synchronized with intravaginal sponges and inseminated transcervical. No difference in pregnancy rates between TEY, TSL-control, or RJ groups were evident (P>0.05). As a result, it was deduced that RJ additions to TEY and TSL extenders did not affect sperm quality at freezing in Damascus goat semen except for the intact acrosome ratio and had no positive effect on fertility.