Influence of a diet supplementation with Lepidium meyenii on quality of cooled equine semen

New studies are underway to find new methods for supporting longerstorage of cooled stallion semen. The aim of this work was to test theeffect of dietary supplementation with maca (Lepidium meyenii)onsperm preservability as 5°C in fertile and hypofertile breeding stallions.Diet of two stallions (1 fertile and 1 hypofertile) but not of two controlstallion (1 fertile and 1 hypofertile) was supplemented with maca (20 g/day) for a total of 60 days. Ejaculates were collected every fifteen days,processed for cooling at 5°C and stored for 72 h. Total motility,progressive motility, acrosome integrity (PNA-FITC staining) andevaluation of lipoperoxidation (LP sperm) status were performed. Theprogressive motility move from 30–15–10% of day 0 to 70–60–40% of day 60 at 24, 48, 72 h respectively in the fertile stallion and from 5–0–0% of day 0 to 40–30–30% of day 60 at 24, 48, 72 h respectively in thehypofertile stallion. Opposite situation occurs with the acrosomestatus: The percentage of acrosome reacted sperms going from 17–33–44 of day 0 to 0–20–29 of day 60 at 24, 48, 72 h respectively in thefertile stallion and from 25–42–56 at of day 0 to 10–28–36 of day 60 at24, 48, 72 h, respectively in the hypofertile stallion. The results show areduction of lipid peroxidation during storage in stallions treated. Insummary, dietary supplementation of stallions with maca attenuated adecline in motility and acrosome reacted of cooled-stored semen.