Glutathione Addition in Tris-citric Egg Yolk Extender Improves the Quality of Cooled Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) Bull Semen

The present study was designed to see whether adding glutathione to tris-citric egg yolk extender improves the quality of buffalo bull spermatozoa stored at 5°C for five days. Semen collected from Nili-Ravi buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) bulls (n = 5) was diluted (37C; 10 x 10 motile spermatozoa per ml) with extender having glutathione (0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0mM). The extended semen was cooled from 37C to 5C in 2 hours and stored at 5°C for five days. Post-extension spermatozoal quality viz; motility, viability, plasma membrane integrity and normal acrosomes were studied at 1, 3 and 5 day of storage. There was no difference (P > 0.05) in motility (%), viability (%), plasma membrane and acrosomal integrity (%) of sperm due to glutathione at 1 day after dilution. Highest (P < 0.05) sperm motility, viability and plasma membrane integrity was observed in extender containing glutathione 0.5 and 1.0mM at 3 and 5 day of storage. Moreover, the percentage of spermatozoa with normal apical ridge was higher (P < 0.05) in extender containing glutathione 0.5mM at 3 and 5 day of storage. It is concluded that glutathione (0.51.0mM) in tris-citric egg yolk extender improves the quality of buffalo bull spermatozoa stored at 5°C for five days of storage.