This study aimed to establish the sensitivity of Muscovy duck semen to oxidative stress (OS) and the effect of Desferal, applied as an antioxidant. The effect of three prooxidant systems in presence and absence of Desferal were tested on the motility and kinetic parameters (determined using CASA system), as well as the level of lipid peroxidation (LPO) and glutathione (tGSH) of Muscovy semen. The semen was diluted (1:3 v/v) with four extenders (saline solution, IMV Canadyl, HIA-1, and AU) and stored at 4 °C for 6 h. The cooled semen was divided into aliquots (50 × 106 sperm cells/mL), which were incubated at 37 °C for 30 min with one of the following prooxidative agents: ferrous sulfate (FeSO4, 0.1 mM), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2, 1 mM), and Fenton system (FeSO4(Fe2+), 0.1 mM + H2O2, 1 mM), in the presence or absence of Desferal (0.1 mM). The addition of FeSO4 + H2O2 or FeSO4 regardless of the used extender, as well as the addition of H2O2 to the diluted semen with saline solution significantly increased the levels of LPO (P < 0.05). With the lowest prooxidant effect was H2O2. The application of Desferal reduced significantly (P < 0.05) the LPO levels induced by FeSO4 + H2O2 or FeSO4 and in a weaker degree by H2O2. Among all prooxidants, FeSO4 + H2O2 decreased in the greatest extent the tGSH concentration in semen diluted with each used extenders in comparison to the relevant control. The addition of Desferal in semen diluted with HIA-1 extender and incubated with FeSO4, and H2O2, showed the best restoration of tGSH level, close to that of respectively controls. The studied prooxidants significantly reduced total, progressive, and kinetic sperm motility (P < 0.05). Although the inclusion of Desferal reduced the sperm OS, it did not improve the impaired by OS sperm motility.
Keywords: Avian semen; Glutathione; Lipid peroxidation; Muscovy duck; Oxidative stress.
© 2022 The Authors.