El-Sisy, G. A., D. A. El-Badry, R. I. El-Sheshtawy & W. S. El-Nattat, 2018. Effects of Phoenix dactylifera pollen grains extract supplementation on post-thaw quality of Arabian stallion semen. Bulg. J. Vet. Med., 21, No 1, 40–49.

DOI: 10.15547/bjvm.1044

This study explored the effect of extender supplementation with different concentrations of date palm pollen grain (DPPG) on post-thawed sperm motility, viability index, membrane and acrosome integrities in Arabian stallions. Five ejaculates from each of four Arabian stallions were subjected to cryopreservation with a modified INRA-82, without any supplementation (control) or supplemented with 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 mg DPPG. After thawing, all samples were maintained at 37 ^oC, while analyses were performed at 0, 1, and 2 and 3 hours. Sperm motility percentage, viability index, membrane integrity percentage and acrosome integrity of each sample were determined by conventional laboratory methods. The addition of 100 mg DPPG resulted in improved maintenance of sperm moti­lity after 0 and 60 min post-thawing, as compared to the control and other treatment groups. non-significant effects on viability index were observed after enrichment of extender with 100 and 150 mg DPPG. The addition of 100 and 150 mg DPPG resulted in significant (P<0.0010) improvement in post-thawing membrane integrity (41.33±0.83%; 41.33±2.33%) compared to the controls (34.33±1.55%). These concentrations exerted also a beneficial effect in preserving sperm acrosome integrity (38.33±1.01%; 38.67±1.64%) as compared with the control one (33.33±1.12%). Supplementation of modified INRA-82 with 200 mg DPPG failed to maintain sperm motiliy while 250 mg PG has a negative impact on all studied post-thawing semen parameters. In conclusion, adding 100 and 150 mg date palm pollen grain extract to modified INRA-82 seemed useful in the chilling and freezing process of Arabian stallion sperm.

Key words: Arabian stallion, cryopreservation, pollen grain, semen