Background: The role of oxidative stress during cryoprotectant treatment has received little attention. OBJECTİVE: To assess the effects of different cryoprotectants and discover relationships between cryodamage and oxidative stress parameters on Awassi ram sperm.
Materials and methods: The sperm samples diluted with Salamon's tris-citrate (TRIS) containing 20% centrifuged egg yolk and 0.5, 1.0 or 1.5 M Glycerol (Gly), methanol (M), 2-methoxyethanol (2-ME), dimethylacetamide (DMA) and 1.2 propanediol (PR). After 2 h of equilibration at +4 ºC, the sperm samples were frozen in liquid nitrogen vapour and stored.
Results: The best post-thaw motility (43.3%, 41.7%) of sperm was achieved when protected with 0.5 and 1.0 M glycerol. Arylesterase and ceruloplasmin parameters were significantly different after equilibration, whereas sulfhydryl groups were significantly different after freezing in their respective groups (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: The increased use of glycerol caused greater loss of motility. The role of oxidative stress in freezing was also found to be limited.