Effects of Dietary Supplement Containing Lepidyum Meyenii, Laminaria and Equisetum Extracts on Equine Frozen Semen

BACKGROUND-AIM Nutraceutical supplements including several botanicals, oils of both animal and plant origin, and vitamins have been tested with the aim of improving sperm quality in human and veterinary medicine. Among botanicals, Lepidyum meyenii (Maca) was found to have positive effects on male sexual functions and spermatogenesis in mammals. In particular, 60 days dietary supplementation in stallions was found to improve spermatozoa concentration, motility, and acrosome integrity on fresh and cooled equine semen. However, no information exists on possible effects of Maca supplementation on equine frozen semen. METHODS Eight adult Sicilian Oriental Purebred stallions were included in the study. Group A (n.4) was fed 50 g/day of powder containing Lepidyum meyenii, Laminaria and Equisetum extracts, for 60 days in addition to normal diet. Group B (n.4) received the same diet without supplements. Semen collection and freezing was performed on each horse before starting supplementation (D0) and then after 60 (D60) and 90 days (D90). Frozen/thawed semen samples have been evaluated by CASA system (Androvision, Minitube). Data were considered significant for p ≤ 0.05. RESULTS No side effect was observed in experimental Group A during the study. Two-way ANOVA showed no significant effect of nutraceuticals and time between groups for total (MOT), progressive (PROG) motility, and percentage of rapid (FAST) and immotile spermatozoa. However, when considering the percentual differences in studied parameters at D0 vs D90, MOT (p=0.0002), PROG (p=0.0433) and FAST (p<0.0001) were significantly higher in Group A compared to Group B. CONCLUSIONS Frozen/thawed semen samples from horses receiving the above-mentioned botanical extracts had improved total and progressive motility and velocity of spermatozoa. These nutraceuticals seem to lessen the deleterious effects of cryopreservation on stallion semen by reducing the oxidative stress damage. Despite the small samples size, our results encourage to study the use of botanicals for improving equine frozen semen quality in more detail. Further research on artificial insemination using this semen should be performed to determine possible effects on fertility especially in poor freezers stallions.