Effect of butylated hydroxytoluene on bull spermatozoa frozen in egg yolk-citrate extender

Effect of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) on the quality of frozen-thawed Holstein bull sperm in egg yolk-citrate extender was evaluated. High quality semen samples were diluted in egg yolk-citrate extenders containing 0, 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 mM BHT and subsequently frozen in liquid nitrogen. Pre-freeze and post-thaw progressive motility, and live/dead ratio and acrosomal integrity of 200 sperm per slide, stained with Eosin–Nigrosin and Giemsa, were evaluated at 0, 2 and 4 h after thawing. There was a significant decrease in forward motility, livability and acrosomal integrity up to 4 h after thawing the frozen sperm. Upon thawing, sperm progressive motility at 1 mM BHT was significantly (P < 0.001) higher (11%) than other groups, but percentages of live sperm and live sperm with intact acrosomes were higher at 0.5 mM BHT. BHT at 4 mM BHT caused a significant decrease in motility, livability and acrosomal integrity during preparatory stages of freezing sperm. It is concluded that 0.5–1.0 mM BHT can be beneficial for freezing Holstein bull spermatozoa in egg yolk-citrate diluent, when inseminated immediately after thawing.