Optimization of Cholesterol-Loaded Cyclodextrin Combined with Soybean Lecithin as a Cryoprotectant for Rooster Sperm

There are many applications of soybean lecithin (SL) and cholesterol-loaded cyclodextrin (CLC) in sperm freezing processes. To the best of our knowledge, there have been few cases of the combined use of SL and CLC in freezing rooster semen. We investigated the effects of CLC, SL, and their combination on rooster sperm cryodamage. Three experiments were conducted: experiment 1, SL (0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2.0%); experiment 2, CLC (1.25 mg, 2.5 mg, 5 mg, 10 mg, 15 mg); and experiment 3, CLC + SL (2.5 mg + 0.25%, 2.5 mg + 0.5%, 2.5 mg + 1%, 2.5 mg + 1.5%). Semen samples were cryopreserved using a programmed cryostat, followed by the determination of post-thaw sperm quality, antioxidant indices, and hatching. The results showed that the combination of 2.5 mg CLC + 0.5% SL had the most significant synergistic effect on cryodamage, and the viability (56.69%), motility (54.35%), mitochondrial activity (54.23%), plasma membrane integrity (53.52%), acrosome integrity (54.71%), and antioxidant activity (MDA concentration: 5.65 nmol/mL; SOD activity: 152.73 U/mL) were significantly greater than those of the other combinations (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Nevertheless, the combined CLC and SL addition group did not substantially increase the fertilization and hatching rates of frozen semen compared with the addition of 2.5 mg CLC. In conclusion, the addition of 2.5 mg CLC and 2.5 mg CLC + 0.5% SL enhanced the quality and fertility of frozen rooster sperm.