Effect of caffeine on parameters of ram sperm motility

Abstract

The goal of this study was to examine the effect of caffeine on motility parameters of cooling-stored ram sperm – total motility and progressive movement. Caffeine is a cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase inhibitor, which can affect sperm motility. The semen was kept at 4˚C for several days. Caffeine was added to fresh ram semen diluted in Triladyl at concentrations of 1, 2 and 4 mmol.l -1 every day of sperm storage, shortly before analysis. Sperm motility was analyzed using CASA system after 24, 48, and 72 h of storage. We confirmed the stimulated effect of caffeine given at concentrations of 1, 2, and 4 mmol.l -1 on ram sperm total motility and progressive movement. The maximum effect of caffeine was observed 30 min after addition. The most effective concentration of caffeine was 4 mmol.l -1. These results indicate that caffeine can maintain motility of ram sperm during long-term cooling-storage.