Enhancing porcine oocyte quality and embryo development through natural antioxidants

During fetal development, primordial oocytes maintain their developmental potential through a ROS-minimizing metabolic mechanism. Maturation increases ROS levels, causing stress and damage, which are countered by in vivo antioxidants. In vitro maturation (IVM) worsens this due to fewer antioxidant presence and medium factors. To address this, we evaluated the effects of incorporating various natural antioxidants in the porcine oocyte IVM media. Our findings revealed that 10 μM Dendrobine (DEN), 1 μM Polydatin (PD), 20 μM Limonin (LIM), and 25 μM Nobiletin (NOB) significantly improved the first polar body extrusion rates (p < 0.05), reduced ROS, and increased GSH levels. Individual addition of 100 μg/mL Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBP), 0.1 μM Kaempferol (KAE), 250 μM Salidroside (SAL), 10 μM Curcumin (CUR), DEN, PD, LIM, and NOB to the porcine IVM system showed that KAE, LIM, NOB, and LBP treatments yielded the most favorable results. At the gene level, LIM, LBP, and NOB were found to upregulate the expression levels of GPX1, SIRT1, and TFAM, while downregulating Caspase3 and increasing the BCL2/BAX ratio. The inclusion of LIM, NOB, and LBP, either alone or in combination, into the IVM media effectively alleviated oxidative stress in porcine oocytes, decreased cell apoptosis, preserved mitochondrial membrane potential, and enhanced the blastocyst rate. These results offer valuable insights for optimizing the porcine oocyte IVM culture system.