Effect of supplementation of L-carnitine during in vitro maturationon embryo production in Sahiwal cows
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Keywords:
Blastocyst, In vitro maturation, Lipid, L-carnitine, Ovum pick-up, SahiwalAbstract
Embryo transfer technology enables rapid dissemination of superior genetics and in vitro produced embryos have gained more consideration than the in vivo derived embryos due to higher yield of embryos with respect to time. The primary limitation impacting in vitro derived embryos is the success of in vitro maturation as in vitro derived oocytes contain more lipid content contributing to increased oxidative stress and compromised developmental competence. In the present study, lipid modulator, L-carnitine at 1 mM and 3mM was supplemented in the maturation media to decrease lipid content and subsequent oxidative stress in the oocytes undergoing maturation. A total of 326 follicles from overy were aspirated out of which 228 cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) were collected with a recovery rate of 69.93%. The in vitro maturation of the COC’s supplementation with 3 mM L-Carnitine exhibited
significantly (p<0.05) lower complete expansion of cumulus cells in comparison to maturation media supplemented with 1 mM L-carnitine (48, 75.00% vs 58, 90.62%). The cleavage rate of the COC’s matured with supplementation of 3 mM L-Carnitine displayed considerably (p<0.05) less cleavage in comparison to group supplemented with 1 mM L-Carnitine (7.67±0.33,75.40% vs 8.67±0.21,83.87%). The blastocyst rate of the COC’s matured with supplementation of 3 mM L-Carnitine showed significantly (p<0.05) lower embryo production (4.17± 0.31,40.98% vs 5.83± 0.80,56.45%) in comparison to group supplemented with 1 mM L-Carnitine. So, the supplementation of 1 mM L-carnitine is suitable for Sahiwal oocytes during in vitro maturation for higher embryo production.
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