Soybean lecithin and cholesterol-loaded cyclodextrin in combination to enhances the cryosurvival of dairy goat semen

The objective of the study was to examine the effect of soy lecithin (SL) and cholesterol loaded cryclodestrin (CLC) on cryo-survival of sperm cryopreserved in the presence or absence of seminal plasma in Saanen dairy goats. Tris-based dilutions containing various concentrations of SL (0, 0.5%, 1.0% or 2.0%) and CLC (0, 2.0 g/L, 4.0 g/L or 6.0 g/L CLC) were used to cryopreserve Saanen dairy goat sperm. The quality of frozen-thawed sperm, including progressive motility, viability, acrosome and plasma membrane integrity, as well as fertility were detected. Results found that the optimal combination of the two cryoprotectants was 1.0% SL+4.0 g/L CLC, which significantly increased progressive motility, viability, acrosome and plasma membrane integrity of frozen thawed sperm. The impact of the two cryoprotectants in combination was not affected by the presence of seminal plasma. The conception rates obtained after artificial insemination using sperm cryopreserved with and without seminal plasma were 88.89% and 91.67% (P > 0.05), respectively. The respective values for average number of litter sizes were 1.55 ± 0.17 and 1.56 ± 0.21 (P > 0.05). Therefore, this study improved the cryopreservation efficiency of goat semen, enhanced the sperm cryosurvival, and layed a foundation for the wide application of frozen goat semen.