Role of amino acids as additives on sperm motility, plasma membrane integrity and lipid peroxidation levels at pre-freeze and post-thawed ram semen

The possibility of including amino acids for cryopreservation of ram semen to improve the quality of frozen semen was explored in this study in sheep model. 24 samples were collected in triplicate from 8 rams of 2-3 year old Bannur cross bred rams maintained at the Institute Experimental Livestock Unit. Semen was diluted in tris-egg yolk glycerol diluent and made into 7 aliquots as follows: aliquot 1 served as control, “l-alanine” was added at 100 and 135 mM in the aliquots 2 and 3, “l-glutamine” was added at 20 and 25 mM in the aliquots 4 and 5 and “l-proline” was added at 25 and 50 mM in the aliquots 6 and 7, respectively. Diluted semen was filled in 0.25 ml French straws and frozen in LN2. Inclusion of “l-proline” and “l-glutamine” in the diluent increased the percent live sperm (P < 0.001), total motility (P < 0.05) and maintained higher functional membrane and acrosomal integrity (P < 0.001) by decreasing lipid peroxidation (P < 0.001) compared to the control group. In contrast, “l-alanine” decreased the percentage of total motility, fast progressive spermatozoa and increased (P < 0.01) the percentage of immotile spermatozoa. It can be concluded that 20 mM “l-glutamine” and 25 mM “l-proline” can be used as semen additive to freeze ram semen as they prevented cryoinjuries to sperm and improved the pre-freeze and post-thaw semen characteristics.