| dc.description.abstract | Assisted reproductive technology is used to treat infertility in women and
prepubertal girls with ovarian tissue cryopreservation. However, the
establishment of culturing immature oocytes is challenging in infertility
treatment. In-vitro maturation is a crucial process in ART;. However, it has been
developed for many decades; it remains a problem due to lower quality embryos
than in-vivo maturation. Some reasons affect low successful embryo production
from small porcine antral follicles. The main reason is oxidative stress caused by
the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which leads to abnormal
growth of oocytes and low rates of blastocyst. An imbalance of antioxidants and
ROS causes oxidative stress, limiting embryos' maturation rate and
developmental competence. We recommend supplementing cell cultures with
antioxidants such as Astaxanthin and Melatonin. Astaxanthin is derived from the
carotenoid xanthophyll; Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland. Both are
considered a potential natural antioxidant.
This study was divided into two experiments. The first used Astaxanthin and
Melatonin in in-vitro growth (IVG) to improve porcine oocyte quality. The second
experiment attempts to induce high blastocyst quality using the parthenogenetic
activation method. The treatment of antioxidants showed a significantly higher
quality of oocytes; however, the supplement of Astaxanthin did not considerably
affect the maturation rate of oocytes derived from EAFs. Meanwhile,
supplemented Melatonin significantly differs in maturation percentage between
the treated and negative control groups. The results of embryo developmental
competence showed no difference in the percentage of blastocysts. However,
adding Astaxanthin increased the cleavage rate from 2-cells to 8-cells at Asta
(0.5µM/mL). Melatonin has a proven significant effect on the embryo's
development, especially at 10 µM in concentrations. | en_US |
