Detrimental Effects of Oxidative Stress on The Ovine Epididymal Spermatozoa Can Be Prevented by The Extract of Iranian Wild Celery

Background: Spermatozoa are susceptible to oxidative stress due to the high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids and the deficiency of intracellular antioxidant system. Iranian indige-nous wild celery (Kelussia odoratissima Mozzaf) is a medicinal herb that belongs to the family of Umbelliferae and grows at high altitudes (more than 2000 m). Antioxidant potential of Ke-lussia odoratissima Mozzaf is comparable to α-tocopherol and butylated hydroxytoluene when assayed by various methods. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of aqueous extract of Kelussia odoratissima Mozzaf on ovine epididymal spermatozoa exposed to in vitro oxidative stress.Materials and Methods: Testes of sexually mature rams were collected in a local abattoir and transported to the laboratory. In the laboratory, epididymal spermatozoa were recovered from the cauda epididymis and re-suspended in TCFE extender (Tris, citric acid, fructose, egg yolk). Spermatozoa at the concentra-tion of 10×106 sperm/ml were incubated at 37˚C in the presence of 100 µM H2O2, 100 µM H2O2 + 0.01% (w/v) wild celery ex-tract or in the absence of them (control) in the TCFE extend-er for 30 min. Motility of fresh sperm and incubated sperms were analyzed by a computer-assisted sperm analysis system (CASA). Each treatment was replicated 5 times and the data of motility parameters were analyzed by One-way ANOVA fol-lowed by the Tukey’s post-hoc test using IBM SPSS 20. Differ-ences at the level of P<0.05 were considered significant.Results: Incubation of sperms with H2O2 caused a significant decrease in the total and progressive motility (42.8 ± 1.74 and 32.6 ± 3.16% respectively) compared with the control (74 ± 4.15 and 68.4 ± 6.60%) and fresh groups (78.2 ± 1.77% and 73.7 ± 1.78%). Co-incubation of spermatozoa with H2O2 and the extract significantly prevented this effect (62.6 ± 2.40% and 51.5 ± 1.98%).Conclusion: This study showed that aqueous extract of Kelus-sia odoratissima Mozzaf could prevent detrimental effects of oxidative stress on the ovine epididymal spermatozoa.

کلیدواژه ها:

Wild celery ، Sperm motility ، H2O2 ، Oxidative stress ، Epididymal Sperm