Objective: This study looked at how different concentrations of curcumin (Curc), zinc chloride (ZnCl2), zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) and Curc loaded on ZnO-NPs (Curc-co-ZnO-NPs) in cryopreservation dilution affected the quality of ram sperm after thawing.
Methods: ZnO-NPs were synthesised using Berberis vulgaris leaf aqueous extract. Then, Curc was loaded on the ZnO-NPs that had been synthesised. We used analytical methods to look at the composition, morphology and size of green synthesised ZnO-NPs and Curc-co-ZnO-NPs, including UV-Vis, zeta potential, EDX, DLS, FE-SEM and FT-IR. Using a Tris-base extender containing various concentrations of Curc, ZnCl2, ZnO-NPs and Curc-co-ZnO-NPs (0, 1, 10 and 100 µg/mL), semen samples from four rams were combined. Sperm motility, viability, DNA and plasma membrane integrity, total abnormalities and malondialdehyde (MDA) generation were all evaluated in treatment groups after thawing.
Results: The results showed that adding 1 µg/mL of ZnO-NPs and Curc-co-ZnO-NPs significantly reduced the level of MDA and total abnormalities (p < 0.05). Additionally, following the freeze-thawing procedure, the presence of 1 µg/mL of Curc-co-ZnO-NPs in the diluent of ram sperm significantly increased the percentage of sperm viability and motility in comparison to the control and other treatment groups (p < 0.05). Furthermore, as compared to the control group and other treatments, treatments containing 1 µg/mL of Curc-co-ZnO-NPs significantly improved membrane and DNA integrity (p < 0.05).
Conclusions: It appears that following freeze-thawing, the Curc-co-ZnO-NPs (1 µg/mL) enhanced sperm parameters.
Keywords: Curc‐co‐ZnO‐NPs; ZnO‐NPs; cryopreservation; curcumin; ram.
© 2024 The Author(s). Veterinary Medicine and Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.