Improvement of the Moghani goat sperm quality by adding rosemary extract and glycerol to the extender

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of adding different levels of Rosemary extract with two different dose of glycerol on the motility, viability and membrane integrity of Moghani rams semen after freeze-thawing process. Semen was collected from four healthy and mature Moghani rams (3-4 years), twice a week for 3 weeks. Afterward the samples were evaluated and pooled for altering individual effects. After that the pooled semen was divided in to aliquots and extended with the treatments including 3 levels (0, 2 and 6 percent of rosemary extract with 5 or 7 percent of glycerol. then semen equilibrated at 5 ºC for 2 h, and aspirated into 0.25 mL straws. After equilibration, straws were frozen in liquid nitrogen vapor and plunged into liquid nitrogen for storage. Sperm parameters, including motility, viability, membrane integrity, and progressive motility by CASA (Computer Assisted Sperm Analysis) software were assessed. The results showed that the treatment supplemented with 2 percent of rosemary extract including 5 percent of glycerol could improve total and progressive motility, viability and membrane integrity (P>0.05). There were no any significant differences for VCL, VSL, ALH and VAP parameters among the experimental treatments (P> 0.05). In conclusion it is proposed that addition of 2 percent of rosemary extract with 5 percent of glycerol could improve the quality of Moghani ram sperms parameters after freeze-thawing process.