Home> Published Issues> 2018> Volume 5, No. 2, June 2018
Antioxidant Effects of Peppermint (Mentha piperita) Extract on the Oxidative Balance of Rabbit Spermatozoa
Eva Tvrdá, Natália Konečná, Katarína Zbyňovská, and Norbert Lukáč
Department of Animal Physiology, Slovak University of Agriculture, Nitra, Slovakia
Abstract—This study aimed to assess the effects of different concentrations (0, 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 μg/mL) of the peppermint (Mentha piperita) extract on the motility and oxidative profile of rabbit spermatozoa following 0, 2, 4 and 8h of in vitro culture. Sperm motion was assessed using Computer aided sperm analysis, while Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) production and the total antioxidant capacity were assessed by chemiluminescence. Protein and lipid oxidation were evaluated using spectrophotometric assays. The experiments revealed that low peppermint concentrations (1-10 μg/mL) exhibited motility-promoting effects (P<0.05 and P<0.01; 8h). Peppermint concentrations ranging between 1 and 50 μg/mL led to a significant preservation of the intracellular oxidative balance of rabbit spermatozoa (P<0.01; P<0.001; 8h). All selected peppermint concentrations prevented oxidative degeneration of proteins and lipids (P<0.05; P<0.01; P<0.001; 8h). Our results indicate that the peppermint extract could delay oxidative damage inflicted to spermatozoa by the in vitro environment.
Index Terms—peppermint, reactive oxygen species, antioxidants, spermatozoa, rabbits
Cite: Eva Tvrdá, Natália Konečná, Katarína Zbyňovská, and Norbert Lukáč, "Antioxidant Effects of Peppermint (Mentha piperita) Extract on the Oxidative Balance of Rabbit Spermatozoa," Journal of Advanced Agricultural Technologies, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 117-122, June 2018. Doi: 10.18178/joaat.5.2.117-122
Cite: Eva Tvrdá, Natália Konečná, Katarína Zbyňovská, and Norbert Lukáč, "Antioxidant Effects of Peppermint (Mentha piperita) Extract on the Oxidative Balance of Rabbit Spermatozoa," Journal of Advanced Agricultural Technologies, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 117-122, June 2018. Doi: 10.18178/joaat.5.2.117-122