Testosterone Concentration, Libido and Spermatozoa Quality in Gembrong Goats after in vivo and in vitro PGF2α Administration

Abstract

The Gembrong goat population is currently in a critical state. The preliminary study results show that one of the factors causing the population decline is the low fertility of male goats characterized by low sperm quality. The improvement of the spermatozoa quality can be performed with the administration of PGF2α. This study aims to determine the difference in semen quality in Gembrong goats after in vivo and in vitro administration of PGF2α. The study was divided into two phases. Phase I involved in vivo testing of PGF2α administration, while phase II involved in vitro PGF2α administration in both groups from phase I. In phase I, goats were separated into two groups (n = 3): Group 1 (G1) was treated with 75 µg (1 mL) PGF2α, while group 2 (G2) was treated with 1 mL physiological NaCl. Assessment of libido, semen collection for semen quality examination and blood collection for testosterone concentration examination were performed 30 min after treatment. The collected semen in Phase I was divided into two groups for dilution and freezing, resulting in four treatment groups in Phase II: G1a, G1b, G2a and G2b. Semen from groups G1a and G2a were diluted with Andromed diluent which was supplemented with 75 µg of PGF2α, while groups G1b and G2b were diluted with AndroMed® without the administration of PGF2α. The results indicated that in vivo PGF2α administration increases the libido (p<0.05), with scores in G1 and G2 being 5.00±1.00 and 8.67±1.15, respectively. However, testosterone concentration and all variables related to spermatozoa quality did not show significant differences (p>0.05). In vitro administration of PGF2α enhanced pre-freezing motility in G1a, G1b, G2a and G2b, with motility values were 75.04±5.43, 55.98±0.74, 70.21±0.04 and 52.19±18.53%, respectively (p<0.05). In conclusion, in vivo administration of PGF2α can enhance libido, while in vitro administration can increase pre-freezing spermatozoa motility in Gembrong goats.