Introduction

To overcome the excess damage on in vitro matured (IVM) oocytes by external oxygen, we supplemented an antioxidant, β-cryptoxanthin (BCX) to IVM medium.

Materials and Methods

The immatured oocytes were cultured in IVM medium supplemented with 0, 0.1, 1, 10 and 100 μM BCX (control, 0.1 B, 1 B, 10 B and 100 B). Then, we compare the intracellular ROS generation, GSH content and antioxidant gene expression of these oocytes and following embryos.

Results and Discussion

The intracellular ROS concentration was lowest in 1 B treated group among all treated groups. More detail, in classified maturation stages (GVBD, MⅠ and MⅡ stage), the concentration of ROS decreased and that of GSH increased in 1 B treated group compared to control group. In addition, the relative mRNA expression level of antioxidant genes (superoxide dismutase-2 and peroxiredoxin-5) was significantly higher in 1 B treated group than control group. Finally, the maturation of oocytes and development of embryos in 1 B treated group were higher than those of control group. In conclusion, β-cryptoxanthin is helpful for preventing ROS generation of porcine follicular oocytes and improves their developmental potential.