Is Resveratrol Effective in Protecting Stallion Cooled Semen?

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of resveratrol (RSV) during liquid storage of stallion sperm for 24 hours at either 10°C or 4°C. The antioxidant RSV was added to reduce the oxidative damage that occurs during cold storage. Aliquots of 2 mL of diluted semen were stored either at 4°C or 10°C under anaerobic conditions, in the absence (control group) or presence of RSV at different concentrations (10, 20, 40, and 80 μM). Sperm quality parameters were assessed at 0 hours and after 24 hours of storage. Resveratrol treatment did not affect sperm quality parameters at 0 hours. At 24-hour storage, a significant ( P  < .01) decrease of sperm quality was observed independently from RSV supplementation and storage temperature. A significant decrease of viable spermatozoa with high mitochondrial membrane potential (SYBR+/PI−/JC-1+) was evident at 24-hour storage in 40- and 80-μM RSV groups compared with control group. Moreover, a decline of total motility in 80-μM RSV group compared with the control group and a decrease of progressive motility and average path velocity in 80-μM RSV group compared with control and 20-μM RSV groups were observed. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that RSV supplementation does not enhance sperm quality of stallion semen after 24 hours of storage. Moreover, 40- and 80-μM RSV concentrations could damage sperm functional status, probably acting as pro-oxidant. Finally, although 24-hour storage significantly affected most of the sperm quality parameters, no significant differences were found in groups maintained at 4°C or 10°C, suggesting that stallion semen could be equally preserved at these different temperatures.