Cryopreservation of boar semen using straws

Abstract An optimal protocol for cryopreservation of boar semen was established. First, the boar semen was pre-diluted with ZORLESCO (ZO) solution and pre-equilibrated at room temperature for 1 h. After adding extender I, spermatozoa were equilibrated at 5°C for 1.5 h; then an equal volume of extender II was added and the spermatozoa equilibrated for 2 h. The resulting spermatozoa were loaded into 0.25 ml straws, equilibrated for 10 min at 3 cm above the surface of liquid nitrogen (LN), then promptly submerged into LN. When thawing, straws were incubated in a water bath at 37°C for 30 s. This procedure yielded the highest post-thaw motility of 0.58±0.03 and plasma integrity of 63.2±1.2%, together with a normal acrosome in 51.4±2.6% of spermatozoa. Abnormal spermatozoa after freezing represented only 14.0±3.0%.