Native plants (Phellodendron amurense and Humulus japonicus) extracts act as antioxidants to support developmental competence of bovine blastocysts

Abstract

ObjectivePhellodendron amurense (P. amurense) and Humulus japonicus (H. japonicus) are closely involved in anti-oxidative response and increasing antioxidant enzymes activities. However, the effects of their extracts on development of preimplantation bovine embryos have not been investigated. Therefore, we investigated the effects of P. amurense and H. japonicus extracts on developmental competence and quality of preimplantation bovine embryos.MethodsAfter in vitro fertilization, bovine embryos were cultured for 7 days in Charles Rosenkrans amino acid medium supplemented with P. amurense (0.01 μg/mL) and H. japonicus (0.01 μg/mL). The effect of this supplementation during in vitro culture on development competence and antioxidant was investigated.ResultsWe observed that the blastocysts rate was significantly increased (p<0.05) in P. amurense (28.9%±2.9%), H. japonicus (30.9%±1.5%), and a mixture of P. amurense and H. japonicus (34.8%± 2.1%) treated groups compared with the control group (25.4%±1.6%). We next confirmed that the intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were significantly decreased (p<0.01) in P. amurense and/or H. japonicus extract treated groups when compared with the control group. Our results also showed that expression of cleaved caspase-3 and apoptotic cells of blastocysts were significantly decreased (p<0.05) in bovine blastocysts derived from both P. amurense and H. japonicus extract treated embryos.ConclusionThese results suggest that proper treatment with P. amurense and H. japonicus extracts in the development of preimplantation bovine embryos improves the quality of blastocysts, which may be related to the reduction of ROS level and apoptosis.

Ethanolic Extract of Dried Leaves from the Cerrado Biome Increases the Cryotolerance of Bovine Embryos Produced In Vitro

“…The supplementation of 0.01 mg/mL of cagaita decreased the rate of apoptosis in relation to the other concentrations, which may be an indication of better quality. This dose-response effect, which shows toxicity in higher concentrations and improvements in embryo quality when cultured in lower concentrations, has been described previously using different extracts, like green tea and Asian native plants [ 44 , 47 , 60 ].…”

Anti-Oxidative Effects of Human Adipose Stem Cell Conditioned Medium with Different Basal Medium during Mouse Embryo In Vitro Culture

“…Successful implantation and pregnancy are affected by not only the number, but also the quality of transferred BL [49]. The quality of in vitro produced BL is positively or negatively associated with its intracellular ROS levels [50]. Previous studies have demonstrated that a moderate amount of ROS is required in reproductive functions and an appropriate level of increase may be observed in certain processes [51].…”

Red pine ( Pinus brutia Ten ) bark tree extract preserves sperm quality by reducing oxidative stress and preventing chromatin damage

“…Oral application of 20 mg pycnogenol over 7 days was reported to reduce oxidative stress in rats in a study that was conducted to determine the effects of pycnogenol on spermatoxicity, which was in line with the findings obtained in this study (Kim et al, 2014). In another study, it was found that Phellodendron amurense and Humulus japonicus extracts administered before preimplantation of cattle embryos contributed positively to blastocyst development by decreasing ROS levels (Do et al, 2017). In studies that favour our results, Mao et al (2018) stated that both MDA levels and oxidative stress would decrease by using plant‐derived antioxidants, while İnanç et al (2019) claimed that the antioxidant capacity of semen may be improved by utilising antioxidant supplements capable of reducing ROS levels in a semen extender.…”