Effect of different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide on indigenous bull sperm motility

Abstract

Spermatozoa are susceptible to oxidative stress due to their varying levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in the plasma membrane and oxidative stress affects sperm functions essential for fertilization. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), produced by dead or immature spermatozoa, is one of the major reasons for oxidative stress. In this study, we induced oxidative stress in Deoni bull spermatozoa by incubating them with different concentrations (10 μM, 25 μM, and 50 μM) of H2O2 at various time intervals (0 minutes, 30 minutes, and 60 minutes). Sperm motility was assessed at 30 and 60 minutes of incubation. At 30 minutes, the percentage of sperm motility in the control group was 60.8±1.3, while in concentrations of 25 μM and 50 μM, it decreased significantly to 45.8±1.5 and 27.7±2.2, respectively, indicating a notable decrease in sperm motility. After 60 minutes of incubation with concentrations of 25 μM and 50 μM, spermatozoa exhibited motility percentages of 26.5±1.9 and 14.0±1.1, respectively. It is inferred that sperm motility decreased significantly (p