Effects of Different Concentrations of L-Carnitine in Lecithin-Based Semen Extender on Semen Quality of Ghezel Ram after Freeze Thawing Process

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of different levels of L-Carnitine on Ghezel ram semen characteristics after freeze-thawing. Semen samples were collected from 5 healthy and mature rams using an artificial vagina. Different concentrations of 35, 70, 105, mM L-Carnitine were diluted with lecithin-based semen extender and cooled to 5°C and then placed in liquid nitrogen vapor and finally were stored in liquid nitrogen tank. The experiment was carried out on the basis of completely randomized design with 5 replicates. The results showed that the highest total motility and progressive motility were observed in groups containing 70 and 105 mM L-Carnitine that were not significantly different from the control group. The lowest motility recorded in this experiment was the first level of L-Carnitine. In other parameters only VAP, ALH, VCL and LIN were significantly different from the control group. The first level of L-Carnitin was statistically significant in morphology compared to the control group. Addition of 105 mM of L-Carnitine caused higher membrane integrity and lower MDA level compared to 35 mM group (p