Effect of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (OEP) Addition to Extender on Viability of Cryopreserved Santa Inês Ram Semen

Abstract

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of adding the detergent sodium lauryl sulfate (OEP) to the extender used to dilute semen for cryopreservation on several indicators of sperm viability. Two ejaculates were obtained by artificial vagina from 10 Santa Ines sheep and were diluted with egg yolk-TRIS extender with (0.5 or 1.0% OEP) and without OEP. After thawing, sperm motility was assessed using a computer assisted sperm analysis (CASA) system, plasmatic and acrossomal membrane integrity was verified using the fluorescent stains propidium iodide (PI) and carboxyfluorescein diacetate (CFD) and capacitation status was determined by chlortetracycline (CTC) staining technique. The sperm total motility, progressive motility and the percentage of viable sperm with plasmatic and acrossomal intact membrane were highest (P<0.05) in TRIS extender with 0.5 or 1.0% OEP, when compared to the control extender. In conclusion, ram sperm freezability was significantly improved when semen was frozen in an egg yolk-TRIS extender containing an adequate concentration of OEP.