In vitro Effect of Zearalenone and α-Zearalenol on Boar Sperm Characteristics and Acrosome Reaction.

Contents This study was conducted to determine the in vitro effects of three different concentrations (125, 187.5 and 250 μm in diluted semen) of zearalenone (zen) and α-zearalenol ( α-zen) on boar sperm. Semen parameters such as motility, viability and spontaneous acrosome reaction were evaluated. From the results it was shown that both zen and α-zen affected the sperm characteristics significantly (p < 0.05), except for α-zen at the low concentration which did not decrease the percentage of live reacted spermatozoa significantly. In conclusion, zen and α-zen are directly toxic when they affect boar semen in vitro and consequently decrease the fertilization ability of the sperm. The higher the concentration of mycotoxin tested, the greater the decline of sperm parameters noticed. The influence of mycotoxins was found to be time- and dose-dependent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]