Use of melatonin in sperm cryopreservation of farm animals: A brief review

Jones Ofosu; Izhar Hyder Qazi; Yi Fang; Guangbin Zhou

doi:10.1016/j.anireprosci.2021.106850

Use of melatonin in sperm cryopreservation of farm animals: A brief review

Anim Reprod Sci. 2021 Sep 11:233:106850. doi: 10.1016/j.anireprosci.2021.106850. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Jones Ofosu¹, Izhar Hyder Qazi², Yi Fang³, Guangbin Zhou⁴

Affiliations

¹ College of Animal Science and Technology, and Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China.
² College of Animal Science and Technology, and Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China; Department of Veterinary Anatomy and Histology, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Sakrand 67210, Sindh, Pakistan.
³ Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Grassland Farming, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China.
⁴ College of Animal Science and Technology, and Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China. Electronic address: zguangbin@sicau.edu.cn.

PMID: 34537566
DOI: 10.1016/j.anireprosci.2021.106850

Abstract

Melatonin (MT) is a potent antioxidant with useful applications in several fields. Due to the capacity to scavenge free radicals and enhance cellular endogenous antioxidant defenses, MT is widely used in sperm cryopreservation to protect against oxidative stress-induced damage in frozen-thawed sperm. In this article, there is a review of positive effects of MT supplementation in cryopreservation of sperm from domestic ruminants and swine. There is direct or indirect scavenging of free radicals, preventing lipid peroxidation (LPO), and reducing oxidative stress, therefore, protecting membrane and DNA integrity, enhancing post-thaw antioxidant and enzymatic functions to maintain mitochondrial functions and activity, and regulating ATP production and utilization leading to maintenance of sperm quality, motility, and viability. In addition, MT reportedly inhibits sperm apoptosis, potentially by enhancing sperm viability and modulating abundances of mRNA transcripts.

Keywords: Melatonin; Membrane integrity; Mitochondrial activity; Oxidative stress; Sperm cryopreservation.

Publication types

Review