Moringa Oleifera Leaf Extract-Enriched Coconut Water- Based Extender Mitigates Cryodamage and Enhances Post- Thaw Caprine Sperm Quality

Abstract

ryodamage remains a major obstacle to successful semen cryopreservation and there is a continuing for extenders that keep sperm functional intact after thawing. This study tested whether coconut water both Mature (MCW) and Young (YCW) supplemented with Moringa Oleifera Leaf Extract (MLE) could serve as practical, biocompatible alternative to the conventional Tris-citric Acid Yolk-based extenders (TCAYE) commonly used for buck semen. Semen collected from four bucks was pulled and divided into seven treatment groups: TCAYE (0%, 0.5 %, 3 %, MLE), MCW (0%, 0.5 %, MLE), and YCW (0%, 0.3%, MLE). After a 3 hour equilibration at 5 °C, samples were frozen in liquid nitrogen (-196 °C) and assessed at 7 and 30mdays post-thaw for motility, viability, acrosome integrity and morphology. MCW with 0.5% MLE and TCAYE with 3% MLE gave the best post-thaw results overall (P < 0.05). By day 30, MCW+0.5% MLE had the highest viability (58.78 ± 1.74%), while the YCW groups performed worst. Acrosome integrity was similar across treatments at day 7 but fell sharply in the YCW groups by day 30 (P < 0.05), and total sperm defects were lowest in MCW+0.5% MLE and TCAYE+3% MLE (25.83–27.00%) compared with YCW. Taken together, these findings suggest that MCW supplemented with 0.5% MLE offers the most reliable protection for buck sperm during extended cryo-storage, and could be a viable, natural alternative to conventional extenders for caprine artificial insemination.