Abstract

The natural polyphenol resveratrol may be beneficial to many aspects of cell function and animal health, although its actions in the male reproductive system vary depending on animal species. This work investigates resveratrol effects on the quality of preserved boar semen during liquid storage at 17ºC. We used three approaches: 1) evaluation of conventional parameters of seminal quality, 2) measurement of specific response to capacitating stimuli, and 3) evaluation of mitochondria membrane potential and ATP content. Resveratrol supplementation causes i) a loss in the response of liquid stored boar spermatozoa to capacitating stimuli, ii) a decrease in the sperm ATP content and iii) a reduction in the mitochondrial membrane potential. Moreover, higher concentrations of resveratrol increase plasma membrane phospholipid disorder and reduce the percentage of motile spermatozoa. These results suggest that semen doses supplemented with resveratrol could be considered sub-fertile compared with semen stored hypothermically in standard conditions.

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