The antioxidant properties of Amburana cearensis extract may be a useful substitute for standard cell culture medium. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of this extract, with or without supplementation, on in vitro survival and development of sheep isolated secondary follicles. After collection of the ovaries, secondary follicles were isolated and cultured for 18 days in α-MEM+ supplemented with bovine serum albumin, insulin, transferrin, selenium, glutamine, hypoxanthine and ascorbic acid (control medium) or into medium composed of different concentrations of A. cearensis extract without supplements (Amb 0.1; 0.2 or 0.4 mg/ml) or A. cearensis extract supplemented with the same substances described above for α-MEM+ supplementation. The A. cearensis supplemented medium was named Amb 0.1+; 0.2+ or 0.4+ mg/ml. There were more morphologically normal follicles in Amb 0.1 or Amb 0.4 mg/ml than in the control medium (α-MEM+) after 18 days of culture. Moreover, the percentage of antrum formation was significantly higher in Amb 0.1 or Amb 0.2 mg/ml than in α-MEM+ and Amb 0.1+ mg/ml, and similar to the other treatments. All A. cearensis extract media induced a progressive and significant increase in follicular diameter throughout the culture period. In conclusion, this study showed that 0.1 mg/ml of this extract, without supplementation, maintains follicular survival and promotes the development of ovine isolated secondary follicles in vitro. This extract can be an alternative culture medium for preantral follicle development.
Keywords: Culture; Medicinal plant; Oocyte; Sheep; Umburana.