The effect of adding lycopene to improve some properties of dried and frozen semen of arabian rams

Abstract

The experiment was conducted in the animal field at Karma Ali site for a time of three months, from 10/15/2023 to 1/15/2024. Four Arabian rams were purchased from local markets in Basra Governorate, aged 2.5-3 years and of similar weights. They were fed a ration consisting of a feed mixture of barley, bran, straw, and some mineral salts. Clean water was provided to them inside the pen. The rams were trained to collect semen using an artificial vagina for rams in the animal field for two weeks. The experiment included adding different concentrations of lycopene (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5) g/100 ml. The tubes were tightly closed and placed in the refrigerator. After the temperature stabilized at (5°C), they were stored in liquid nitrogen at -196°C for 10, 20, and 30 days. All the characteristics of the diluted and frozen semen were studied using (CASA). T2 (lycopene 0.5 g/100 ml) was significantly outperformed the other treatments in the percentage of individual sperm motility and live sperm in diluted and frozen semen. T2 also recorded the lowest values in the percentage of dead and deformed sperm. The 10-day freezing time significantly outperformed the other 20- and 30-day freezing time in individual sperm motility. There was no significant difference between the 10, 20, and 30-day freezing time in the percentage of live sperm. Furthermore, the 10-day freezing time showed the lowest values in dead sperm compared to the other freezing time. T2 exhibited the highest values in the straight-line velocity (VSL) and linearity of the sperm trajectory (LIN) for diluted and frozen semen compared to the other treatments. The freezing time of 10 days showed the highest values in VSL, while the freezing time of 10.20 days register the highest significant values in LIN.