09/01/2025
Shakespeare may not have put it quite like this, but it's an interesting question none the less!! ISER XIII answered it!!
💥ISER XIII Flashback Monday! 🇧🇷🐎🧪
Seminal plasma is thought to support s***m function, but does it help when added back after freezing epididymal s***m? A team of Argentinian researchers incubated frozen-thawed epididymal s***m (n=40) with 0%, 10%, 50%, or 100% seminal plasma. While motility dropped with higher concentrations, s***m straightness, linearity, and beat-cross frequency improved slightly. There was no effect on viability, membrane function, acrosome status, or morphology. Overall, the study found no clear benefit to post-thaw supplementation, suggesting seminal plasma’s main role may be within the female reproductive tract rather than in vitro.
This research, titled ‘Effect of post-thaw addition of seminal plasma to cryopreserved epididymal equine s***matozoa’, was presented by Gustavo E.A. Olivieri et al. at the Brazilian ISER meeting in 2023.
Find the full abstract here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2023.104606