Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Taicheng Road, Yangling, Xianyang, Shaanxi, 712100, China.
Biol Trace Elem Res. 2018 Oct;185(2):344-355. doi: 10.1007/s12011-018-1255-8. Epub 2018 Feb 4.
Quercetin, a plant-derived flavonoid, is frequently used as an antioxidant for efficient anti-oxidative capacity. However, whether quercetin has protective effects on goat sperm and preimplantation embryos against Cd-induced oxidative injury is still unclear. So, we researched the influence of quercetin on goat sperm and zygotes respectively under the oxidative stress induced by Cd. In our study, quercetin decreased the malonaldehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels caused by Cd in goat sperm (p < 0.05), which facilitated sperm characteristics including motility, survival rates, membrane integrity, and mitochondria activity during storage in vitro and subsequent embryo development (p < 0.05). Moreover, in goat zygotes, quercetin decreased peroxidation products including ROS, MDA, and carbonyl through preserving or maintaining mitochondrial function, gene expression, and anti-oxidative products such as glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase, which ameliorated subsequent embryo development and embryo quality (p < 0.05). Taken together, these results suggest that quercetin protects both goat sperm and preimplantation embryos from Cd-induced oxidative stress.
槲皮素是一种植物来源的类黄酮，常被用作具有高效抗氧化能力的抗氧化剂。然而，槲皮素是否对山羊精子和胚胎前体对 Cd 诱导的氧化损伤具有保护作用尚不清楚。因此，我们研究了在 Cd 诱导的氧化应激下，槲皮素分别对山羊精子和受精卵的影响。在我们的研究中，槲皮素降低了 Cd 引起的山羊精子中丙二醛（MDA）和活性氧（ROS）水平（p<0.05），这有利于精子在体外储存和随后的胚胎发育过程中的运动能力、存活率、膜完整性和线粒体活性（p<0.05）。此外，在山羊受精卵中，槲皮素通过维持或保持线粒体功能、基因表达和抗氧化产物（如谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶、超氧化物歧化酶和过氧化氢酶）来减少 ROS、MDA 和羰基等过氧化产物，从而改善随后的胚胎发育和胚胎质量（p<0.05）。综上所述，这些结果表明槲皮素可以保护山羊精子和胚胎前体免受 Cd 诱导的氧化应激。
