Effectiveness of Butylated Hydroxytoluene in Maintaining the Quality of Gaga Chicken Sperm in Liquid Storage for 72 Hours

Artificial insemination is beneficial for the poultry industry and breeding programs due to the ability to efficiently use superior male chickens for mating with multiple females. This study aimed to examine the effect of adding BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) into the diluent and storage time on the quality of Gaga chicken spermatozoa during liquid storage. The semen was collected using abdominal massage methods and divided into 4 tubes filled with diluent. For the analysis, the diluent selected was egg yolk Ringer's lactate added with BHT at concentrations of 1, 2, and 3 mM, respectively as well as a control treatment without BHT. Liquid semen was stored for 72 hours at 5C, with spermatozoa quality monitored every 24 hours in 10 replicated experiments. The results showed that sperm motility, viability, and plasma membrane integrity were significantly higher (P<0.01) when 2-3 mM BHT was added, while acrosome integrity was elevated after the addition of 1 and 3 mM BHT. Furthermore, the addition of BHT did not significantly change semen pH. DNA damage was lower (P<0.05) when 3 mM BHT was added and mitochondrial activity was enhanced under the same condition. The concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) was lower (P=0.05) with the addition of 3 mM BHT at 24 hours of storage. In conclusion, the addition of 3 mM BHT showed promising potential to maintain chicken sperm quality after liquid storage.