Effect of cholesterol and dimethiyl-formamide on post-thawing parameters in Colombian creole stallion sperm

Objective. To evaluate the effect of cholesterol and dimethyl formamide on the cryosurvival of colombian creole stallion sperm. Materials and methods. Semen from ten stallions was collected and frozen using the same protocol, with variations in the cryoprotectant (glycerol 5% or 5% DMF) and the addition or absence of cholesterol as membrane modifier (1.5 mg cholesterol loaded cyclodextrins for each 120 x 10Z6 cells). The cryosurvival was evaluated by estimating motility using the SCA software. The vitality and membrane integrity was estimated using eosin nigrosine staining and by hypo-osmotic test respectively. Results. Sperm incubated with cholesterol had a significant effect in improving the percentage of total motility, progressive motility, sperm velocity and percentage of rapid sperm along with a decreased percentage of sperm with slow motility. Additionally, there was an improvement in the percentage of live spermatozoa and spermatozoa with membrane integrity (p<0.05). Dimethyl formamide (DMF) as a cryoprotectant, improved all the evaluated parameters in comparison with glycerol (p<0.05). Conclusions. Both procedures improved the evaluated parameters due to the additive effects of the cryoprotectant and the membrane modifier, but there was no interaction between these two factors.