The detrimental effects of ethanol on vital characteristics of goat sperm cells

Inclusion of fat soluble material to the semen extender involves their solution into an appropriate solvent such as ethanol. In addition, these solvent seem to have their specific effects on sperm cells. Hence, the objective of this study was to investigate the effects of adding ethanol to the extender Bioxcell® (IMV, Aigle, France) on freezing ability of goat semen. Five mature mahabadi bucks were selected and semen samples were collected using an artificial vagina. Semen was divided into two groups including groups 1) basal extender as a control and 2) basal extender + ethanol (0.05% of volume). Motility, progressive motility, abnormality and viability were evaluated by standard methods. Data was analyzed using proc GLM of SAS. Motility percentage (44 ± 1.58 vs. 37 ± 1.58), viability (64.04 ± 0.51 vs. 58.69 ± 0.51) and recovery rates (58.01 ± 0.02 vs. 50.76) were significantly higher in control than the other group but progressive motility percentage and abnormality (33 ± 2.12 and 5.05 ± 0.32 vs. 28 ± 2.12 and 4.64 ± 0.32, respectively) were not affected by treatment. This result suggested that ethanol has a toxic effect on sperm cells.