Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Antioxidant Activity of Opuntia SP. Fruit Extracts on Human Sperm Quality and Cryopreservation Cycle

Martina Contino
,
Elena Maria Scalisi
,
Roberta Pecoraro
ORCID logo ,
Chiara Failla
,
Sara Ignoto
,
Lucia Buonfrate
,
Antonio Salvaggio
ORCID logo ,
Pietro Calderaro
,
Claudia Genovese
ORCID logo ,
Salvatore Antonino Raccuia
,
Paola Asero
,
Giovanna Caruso
,
Giovanni Bracchitta
,
Maria Violetta Brundo
*
Version 1 : Received: 3 August 2021 / Approved: 3 August 2021 / Online: 3 August 2021 (13:52:51 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Contino, M.; Leonardi, C.; Genovese, C.; Scalisi, E.M.; Pecoraro, R.; Ignoto, S.; Failla, C.; Ferruggia, G.; Salvaggio, A.; Asero, P.; et al. Antioxidant Activity of Two Opuntia Mill. Species Fruit Extracts on Human Sperm Quality after a Freeze-Thaw Cycle. Natural Product Research 2022, 1–7, doi:10.1080/14786419.2022.2124984. Contino, M.; Leonardi, C.; Genovese, C.; Scalisi, E.M.; Pecoraro, R.; Ignoto, S.; Failla, C.; Ferruggia, G.; Salvaggio, A.; Asero, P.; et al. Antioxidant Activity of Two Opuntia Mill. Species Fruit Extracts on Human Sperm Quality after a Freeze-Thaw Cycle. Natural Product Research 2022, 1–7, doi:10.1080/14786419.2022.2124984.

Abstract

Opuntia sp. contain antioxidant phytochemicals resistant to ROS damage, whose excess negatively affect fertilization. We investigate the activity of fruit extracts of O. dillenii and O. ficus indica (cv red and yellow) on sperm quality and cryopreservation. In the first experiment, we exposed the samples to extracts (50 µl) for 1 hour to then evaluate semen parameters (vitality, motility, acrosome reaction, DNA fragmentation and oxidative stress). The results showed a significant increase in the motility (86%±0.19 for OFI cv yellow, 82%±0.15 for OFI cv red and 90%±0.08 for O. dillenii) compared to the control (80%±0.17). Moreover, we noted a reduction of DNA fragmentation on treated (3%±0.03 in OFI cv yellow, 7%±0.09 in OFI cv red and 5%±0.07 in O. dillenii) than the control (40%±0.14). Furthermore, the oxidative stress was reduced after exposure to solutions (3.15mV in the control and 2.94mV in the treated). In the second experiment, 50 µl of solutions were added to the Freezing medium. After thawing, we observed an improvement in vitality and the number of intact acrosomes. Our results suggest that Opuntia sp. fruit extracts improve sperm quality, both before and after cryopreservation, optimizing the potential of fertilization of sperm cells.

Keywords

Antioxidants; Opuntia ficus indica; Opuntia dillenii; sperm quality; cryopreservation.

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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