The Effect of Apricot Tree Gum on the Quality of Frozen and Melted Ram Sperm in the Breeding Season

The adding gum of some fruit trees preserves the quality of semen during the freezing and thawing process. The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant effects as well as the sugars in apricot tree gum to increase the quality of ram semen during the freezing, storage and thawing process. In this study, 4 treatments were used. The control group was without any apricot and the three treated groups were pure and sterilized apricot gum with concentrations of 10, 15 and 20 mg/mL in a tris-based diluent. Semen collection was performed twice a week during the breeding season using artificial vagina, and sampling was replicated 5 times for each ram. After transferring the samples to the laboratory and diluting them to ensure that they meet the required standards. After cooling the straws in the refrigerator, they were placed in liquid nitrogen. Total motility, progressive motion, survival, abnormality and membrane integrity assessment were measured in the first, 15th, 30th, 45th and 60th days after freezing. Plasma malondialdehyde levels were also assessed after thawing on day 60. The three treated groups of 10, 15 and 20 mg/mL in diluent were significantly different from the control group in total motility, progressive motion, survival, abnormality, membrane integrity, and malondialdehyde levels (P<0.05). There was no significant difference among the treatments of 10, 15 and 20 mg/mL in diluent in all measured traits (P>0.05). However, the treatment of 20 mg/mL had the highest total motility, membrane viability and integrity, and the lowest malignancy and malondialdehyde, and groups of 10 and 15 mg/mL had the highest progressive motion (P<0.05). Considering the results, use of apricot tree gum can improve the quality of sperm cryopreservation.