Influence of vibration duration on the quality of boar semen doses packed in bags or tubes

As previous data showing the negative impact of semen agitation during transport on sperm quality was obtained only in tube-type packages, this study aimed to compare two packages for boar semen dose (bag or tube) submitted to different agitation times. Ejaculates from thirty different boars were diluted in BTS extender, packed in bags or tubes in split sample, and submitted to agitation for 0, 6, or 12 h at 100 rpm at 17 ºC. Semen doses were stored for up to 168 h and evaluated for quality traits. Analyses were conducted as repeated measures, including package type, agitation time, storage time (or incubation for TRT) and their interactions. A longer agitation time resulted in reduced sperm motility, increased pH, decreased apoptotic-like changes cells percentage, reduced mitochondrial activity, increased ROS, and decreased sperm motility after TRT (P < 0.05). Tube packages exhibited higher sperm motility during storage and after TRT, a higher proportion of cells with no apoptotic-like changes and cells with high mitochondrial activity than bags (P < 0.01). The significant interaction between storage time and package type (P < 0.01) showed that tubes had higher pH levels after 72 h, consistently increasing up to 168 h than bags. The integrity was significantly reduced in bags compared to tubes after 12 h of agitation at 120 h of storage (P < 0.01). Acrosome membrane integrity decreased with increased agitation time, which was particularly pronounced in bags compared to tubes (P < 0.05). Overall, tube packaging offered superior protection, particularly under prolonged agitation conditions.