Mitoquinone Can Effectively Improve the Quality of Thawed Boar Sperm

Boar sperm is susceptible to damage by reactive oxygen species during in vitro preservation, leading to lipid peroxidation, which changes the sperm structure and affects its quality after thawing. Exogenous antioxidants play a vital role in preventing this damage. This research aimed to assess the impact of incorporating Mitoquinone into cryopreservation extenders on the quality and antioxidant capacity of boar sperm. Mitoquinone was added to the cryopreservation extender at varying concentrations, namely, 0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 nmol/L. Post-thawing, the sperm were examined for motility parameters, acrosome integrity, DNA integrity, mitochondrial activity, membrane integrity, and antioxidant enzyme activity. The results showed that compared with the control group, 150 nmol/L Mitoquinone could improve sperm viability after freezing and thawing and significantly reduce the malformation rate (p < 0.05). The addition of 150 nmol/L Mitoquinone led to a significant increase in the acrosome integrity, DNA integrity, mitochondrial activity, and membrane integrity of the boar sperm compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Moreover, it enhanced the antioxidant capacity of the sperm. This study demonstrated that the cryopreservation extender containing 150 nmol/L of Mitoquinone can enhance the effectiveness of semen cryopreservation.