Introduction: Today, freezing method is one of the most common approaches in the treatment of infertility. This is while oxidative stress is a major destructing factor during sperm freezing and thawing. However, antioxidant compounds can play a key role in sperm freezing techniques.
Materials and Methods: In this study, 5 groups of sperms were evaluated with and without Ginseng extract and then some parameters were evaluated such as mobility, activity of mitochondrial, amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and DNA fragmentation.
Results: Findings revealed that the mobility and mitochondrial activity in sperms significantly increased (P≤0.05) in frozen and thawed sperms, which had been treated with 1 mg/mL Ginseng extract compared to the freezing and thawing sperms without Ginseng extract. In addition, the results showed that Ginseng treatment significantly decreased the amount of ROS and DNA fragmentation compared to freezing and thawing in frozen and thawed treatment without Ginseng (P ≤ 0.05). By preventing the increase of oxidative stress levels, Ginseng prevented the reduction of mobility and mitochondria activity of the sperms after freezing and thawing. It also reduced sperm DNA defeat and reduced the production of free radicals.
Conclusions: The results of the present study support the hypothesis that Ginseng has positive effects on the sperm quality in cryopreservation process.