Quercetin and Naringenin Provide Functional and Antioxidant Protection to Stored Boar Semen

摘要

A significant effort has been devoted to the enhancement of boar sperm preservation media and techniques, which have become a critical pillar of modern swine production. Despite the availability of numerous semen extenders, a higher antioxidant protection of male gametes is highly required, which may be achieved by the supplementation of natural biomolecules such as quercetin and naringenin. In this regard, we have performed a number of experiments in order to define the optimal concentration range of both biomolecules that could ensure a higher structural integrity, functional activity, and antioxidant profile of boar spermatozoa subjected to short-term storage. The beneficial outcomes achieved in this study shall be tested in vivo at our collaborating pig farm, with their potential contribution to the optimization of the use of stored boar semen in the porcine breeding industry.