EFFECT OF THE SELENIUM SUPPLEMENT TO THE DIET ON THE MOTILITY OF REVITALIZED SPERMATOZOA OF BULLS

Milen Boychev, Georgi Anev, Maria Boycheva

Abstract: The influence of the selenium (Se) addition to the bull’s diet on the motility of their revitalized spermatozoa was tested. The diets of the bulls in the control group, contained 122 μg Se/kg dry mass (DM), for the experimental group, Se as Sel-PlexTM elevated the Se content to 350 μg Se/kg DM. At the beginning of the study a lower movement activity of the spermatozoa from the experimental group was demonstrated in comparison with the control group: the number of vibrating spermatozoa was significantly higher (P<0.01), the number of helicoidal cells (P<0.01) and the mean velocity (P<0.01) were significantly lower. In the control group there were no significant differences in all parameters during the whole experimental period. After Se supplementation the quality of frozen-thawed spermatozoa from the animals of the experimental group was considerably improved: the number of immobile (P<0.05) and vibrating (P< 0.001) spermatozoa was decreased to a large extent and was not significantly different as compared to the control group. The number of helicoidal moving cells was greatly increased in the Se supplement group as compared to the initial value (P<0.01) and was nearly equal to the value of the control group. The mean velocity is also considerably improved (P<0.001) which may be related to the increased number of helicoidal moving spermatozoa. The article discusses the potential influence of absorbed Se as part of selenoenzymes GPx 1, 3 and 4 on sperm motility. The results show that Se concentration up 350 μg organic Se/kg DM added as Sel-PlexTM to bulls’ diet is well tolerated by the animals and may be used for significant improvement of their sperm motility.

Keywords: bul; Selenium; spermatozoa motility

Date published: 2023-03-09