First study of in vitro protective effect of Lepidium meyenii (Maca) on frozen–thawed bovine spermatozoa

Abstract

Background and Aim: Lepidium meyenii Walp (Maca) is an herbaceous plant that grows in the Peruvian Andes and it has been widely used as a nutritional supplement and fertility enhancer and has been used in the treatment of a variety of diseases, such as rheumatism, respiratory disorders, and anemia. The most notable feature of Maca is its potent antioxidant capacity, which helps in the scavenging of free radicals and protection of cells from oxidative stress. This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro effect of Maca extract on thawed sperm cells from bulls. Materials and Methods: Three dilutions of 1, 10, and 100 μg/mL of Maca extract were incubated with frozen–thawed bovine semen and analyzed at 1, 3, and 24 h of exposure time, evaluating the activity of the extract on the DNA, motility, morphology, viability, integrity of the membrane and acrosome of spermatozoa. Results: The Maca extract improved the studied sperm parameters of motility, acrosome integrity, vitality, and DNA integrity of sperm cells at a concentration of 10 –g/mL, and at 1 –g/mL, an improvement was observed in the morphology and integrity of the membrane. However, the best activity of the Maca extract was observed on the DNA integrity of the sperm, which was effective at the three concentrations evaluated after 24 h of incubation. Conclusion: The results indicate that L. meyenii can help in maintaining spermatozoa cellular integrity after the frozen–thaw process, especially in the protection against DNA fragmentation. Therefore, Maca would be a feasible supplementation to protect sperm to maintain their fertile ability after thawing.

Exploring the chemical and pharmacological variability of Lepidium meyenii: a comprehensive review of the effects of maca

“…In another study, the use of aqueous extract in the preservation of sperm exposed to freezing evidenced an increase in sperm hyperactivation and the preservation of sperm DNA integrity at 24 h ( Prete et al, 2022 ). Both studies agreed that these effects occur at low doses ( Leiva-Revilla et al, 2022 ; Prete et al, 2022 ); while high doses (≥50 μL/mL) exhibited immediate harmful effects on seminal quality ( Prete et al, 2022 ).…”

“…This was one of the first claim about maca properties to be studied; ten recent preclinical studies were found, mostly aimed at male fertility. In vitro studies evaluated the effect of different maca extracts on cells of the male reproductive system, including Sertoli cells ( Yoshida et al, 2018 ) and sperm ( Leiva-Revilla et al, 2022 ; Prete et al, 2022 ). The hydroalcoholic extract increased testosterone production by Leidig cells and was involved in steroidogenesis; however, this steroidogenic effect declined with increasing age ( Ybañez-Julca et al, 2022 ).…”

“…The hydroalcoholic extract increased testosterone production by Leidig cells and was involved in steroidogenesis; however, this steroidogenic effect declined with increasing age ( Ybañez-Julca et al, 2022 ). The protective effect on sperm sample preservation was also evaluated, where maca extract in frozen sperm subjected to thawing showed a transient improvement in sperm motility, integrity and morphology, as well as an increase in acrosomal integrity and sperm vitality associated with a decrease in sperm DNA damage at 24 h ( Leiva-Revilla et al, 2022 ). In another study, the use of aqueous extract in the preservation of sperm exposed to freezing evidenced an increase in sperm hyperactivation and the preservation of sperm DNA integrity at 24 h ( Prete et al, 2022 ).…”

Using Aqueous Extract of Maca (Lepidium meyenii) to Study its Effectiveness on Short-Term Storage Ram Semen Dilution and Fertility

“…Also, several studies reported the effectiveness of maca on improving semen quality and quantity in stallions (Del Prete et al, 2018), humans (Tafuri et al, 2021) and canine (Del Prete et al, 2022). Besides that, Leiva-Revilla et al (2022) could be reported that in bovine semen the four dilutions of maca extract at 0, 1, 10, and 100 mg/mL post-thawing incubation for 24 hours indicated rectilinear motility up to 49,60,53 and 48 %,normal 88,90,87 and 87 %,intact live acrosome 21,25,40 and 30%,livability 22,25,41 and 30% and normal DNA 90.60,92.29,91.35 and 91.44%,respectively. Then, the best of aqueous extract of maca on ram semen extenders during the short-term storage at 5 °C for 5 days may be related to antioxidant activity. In this context, Buyanbadrakh et al (2020) who revealed that macaridine, macaene, macamides and alkaloids in maca has freeradical scavenging capacity and increase the levels of superoxide dismutase and glutathione.…”

“…In addition, polyunsaturated fatty acids are presented in maca which played beneficial role in protected cell membrane of spermatozoa. In this assay, Leiva-Revilla et al (2022) reported that normal head was 3, 3, 2 and 4% and fragmented DNA was 9.40, 7.71, 8.65 and 8.56 % post-thawing in bovine semen extender incubation for 24 hours contained 0, 1, 10, and 100 μg/mL of maca extract, respectively. On the other hands, elements in maca can be able to activate sperm function (Kerns et al, 2018) who noticed that elements are known to play an important role for reproduction performance, specially zinc (Zn) are essential for reproduction and that their deficiency can lead to degenerative changes of sperm activity.…”