Comparison of the effect of various disaccharides on frozen goat spermatozoa

In order to create a bank of goat spermatozoa, it was important to evaluate the protective effect of five different cryoprotectant extenders. Additionally, this study determined whether the cryoprotective effect of trehalose is superior to that of other disaccharides. The data indicate that the motility (~20%) and path velocity (~15 μm/s) of spermatozoa frozen with extenders containing disaccharide were significantly less than that of spermatozoa frozen with extender containing no disaccharide (45.21 ± 3.51% and 28.66 ± 13.57 μm/s, respectively; p<0.01). Moreover, in the presence of disaccharide, the percentage of goat spermatozoa with exposed phosphatidylserine following cryopreservation was over 35% and significantly higher than spermatozoa frozen in the absence of disaccharide (4.88 ± 3.41%, p<0.01). In addition, the presence of disaccharide did not increase the thermal resistance or protect membrane integrity of frozen spermatozoa. However, the percentage of cells with an intact acrosome following cryopreservation in the presence of disaccharide was significantly greater than that of cells frozen with no disaccharide (p<0.05). Finally, the protective effect of trehalose on frozen goat spermatozoa was similar to that of sucrose, maltose, or lactose (p>0.05). In conclusion, the effect of trehalose on frozen goat spermatozoa is not superior to that of other disaccharides including sucrose, maltose, or lactose. Moreover, disaccharide used as the main solute does not improve the quality of frozen goat spermatozoa except for protection of acrosome integrity. The role of disaccharide on frozen goat spermatozoa still needs further elucidation.