Effect of supplementation with the reduced form of coenzyme Q10 on semen quality and antioxidant status in dogs with poor semen quality: Three case studies

Abstract

Oxidative stress owing to an imbalance between reactive oxygen species and antioxidants, such as coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), is a major contributor to male infertility. We investigated the effects of the reduced form of CoQ10 (ubiquinol) supplementation on semen quality in dogs with poor semen quality. Three dogs received 100 mg of ubiquinol orally once daily for 12 weeks. Semen quality, serum testosterone, and seminal plasma superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were examined at 2-week intervals from 2 weeks before ubiquinol supplementation to 4 weeks after the treatment. Ubiquinol improved sperm motility, reduced morphologically abnormal sperm, and increased seminal plasma SOD activity; however, it had no effect on testosterone level, semen volume, and sperm number. Ubiquinol supplementation could be used as a non-endocrine therapy for infertile dogs.

The Effect of the Addition of Co-Q10 on the Preservation of Boar Semen at 17°C

“…W hen this lipophilic antioxidant is added to the semen, it can spread directly to the polyunsaturated lipid chain present in the plasma membrane to generate energy and prevent ROS from affecting the sperm's structure and function (Appiah et al 2020). At present, Co-Q10 has been proved to have an antioxidant protective effect on sperm in humans , dogs (Kobayashi et al 2021), broiler (Sharideh et al 2020) and other experiments. It was also confirmed that CoQ-10 could effectively inhibit lipid peroxidation in rooster semen (Masoudi et al 2019) supplementation experiments that are also sensitive to ROS.…”

Coenzyme Q10 improves the quality of sheep sperm stored at room temperature by mitigating oxidative stress

“…CoQ 10 has been reported to play an active role in human reproductive system diseases (Nadjarzadeh et al, 2014; Safarinejad, 2009). In addition, CoQ 10 improves the quality of dog sperm (Kobayashi et al, 2021) and frozen sperm of chickens (Masoudi et al, 2018). The purpose of this experiment was to explore whether CoQ 10 could reduce sperm damage caused by oxidative stress during room temperature preservation and improve the quality of semen preservation.…”