Effects of long-term in vitro exposure of ejaculated boar sperm to zearalenone and α-zearalenol in sperm liquid storage medium.

The effects of in vitro exposure of porcine spermatozoa to zearalenone (ZEN) and α-zearalenol (α-ZOL) were studied by evaluating several parameters of an in vitro fertilization (IVF) system. For this purpose, boar spermatozoa cultured with semen storage medium containing 0 (control), 10 and 1000 µg/L of ZEN and α-ZOL for 1 week at 5°C were used for IVF of in vitro matured oocytes. Overall, there were no significant differences in the rates of total penetration, monospermic fertilization, and polyspermic fertilization of oocytes inseminated with spermatozoa from the different groups. Similarly, ZEN and α-ZOL at 10 and 1000 µg/L did not have detrimental effects on the cleavage and development to blastocysts of oocytes after in vitro fertilization. Although the motility, viability, and plasma membrane integrity of spermatozoa significantly decreased after 3 weeks of storage compared to non-stored spermatozoa (P < 0.05), ZEN and α-ZOL at the evaluated concentrations did not exert detrimental effects on the above parameters, even after 3 weeks of storage. These results indicate that prolonged exposure of boar spermatozoa to ZEN and α-ZOL up to 1000 µg/L under reduced metabolic conditions does not affect their in vitro function.