Search

This study aimed to evaluate the role of anethole during the in vitro culture of caprine early antral follicles. Early antral follicles were isolated from caprine ovaries and cultured for 18 days without (control) or with anethole (300 µg/ml). After culture, the cumulus-oocyte complexes were subjected to in vitro maturation, followed by parthenogenetic activation or in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo culture. Follicular walls were used for the quantification of messenger RNA (mRNA) of CYP19A1, CYP17, MMP-9, TIMP-2, Bax, and Bcl-2 genes, and culture medium was used for evaluation of ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and estradiol levels. After in vitro follicle culture (IVFC), anethole induced higher total antioxidant capacity, that is, it produced higher FRAP levels, reduced the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and increased the levels of mRNA for CYP19A1 and CYP17, which was associated with a greater estradiol production (p < .05). Also, anethole improved the ability of oocytes to resume meiosis and reach metaphase II stage, as well as yielded higher (p < .05) embryo production (e.g., morulas and blastocysts) in both parthenogenetic activation and IVF techniques. One pregnancy (Day 30) was obtained from IVFC with anethole. In conclusion, anethole promoted in vitro growth and maturation of goat early antral follicles and oocytes and enabled embryo production. Furthermore, this study reports, for the first time in goats, a pregnancy after IVF using oocytes originated from early antral follicles grown in vitro., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

We performed the exposure of bovine oocytes to anethole during in vitro maturation (0 or 300 µg/ml), during in vitro embryo production (0, 30, 300 or 2000 µg/ml), or during both periods to determine the rates of 2-4 cells embryos, blastocysts rates and cells numbers, as well as the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Bovine ovaries (n = 240) were collected from a local abattoir after slaughter and cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) with homogeneous and non-dark cytoplasm, surrounded by two or more compact layers of cumulus cells, and an intact zona pellucida were selected for in vitro maturatuion (IVM). Mature oocytes were then submitted to in vitro fertilization (IVF) and in vitro embryo production (IVP) in culture medium supplemented or not with different concentrations of anethole, as described above. Although IVM medium supplementation with 300 µg/ml anethole improved the rates of bovine blastocysts formation, we demonstrated that IVP medium supplementation with 30 µg/ml anethole, regardless of IVM medium enrichment, considerably enhanced blastocysts rates. Furthermore, ROS levels were decreased only when anethole was added to the IVP medium without previous IVM medium supplementation.