This study was carried out to examine the effects of Urtica dioica extract on goat cryopreserved semen quality. The ejaculates of Markhoz goats (n = 12) were collected by an electro-ejaculator. The semen was diluted and supplemented with different concentration of aqueous or hydroalcoholic Urtica dioica extract of aerial or root parts as follows: aerial-aqueous (AA15μg/ml, AA215μg/ml and AA345μg/ml); aerial-ethanolic (AE15μg/ml, AE215μg/ml and AE345μg/ml); root aqueous (RA15μg/ml, RA215μg/ml and RA345μg/ml); root-ethanolic (RE15μg/ml, RE215μg/ml and RE345μg/ml) and control (CCC0mg/ml) without additives. After thawing, sperm samples were subjected to viability, acrosome integrity, plasma membrane integrity, motility, sperm chromatin dispersion (SCD) and concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) assays. Addition of AA15μg/ml to the extender significantly (P < 0.05) improved progressive motility, viability, plasma membrane integrity, acrosome integrity, and DNA integrity of the semen samples. Sperm viability and plasma membrane integrity in aqueous extract (both aerial & root parts)-supplemented extenders were relatively higher, as compared to the control. Moreover, a significant decrease in MDA concentration was detected in semen supplemented with Urtica dioica extract treatments. In conclusion, the results indicate that 5μg/ml of aqueous extract of Urtica dioica aerial part improved sperm quality and could be recommended as an additive to the extender for cryopreservation. This study shows a novel approach in goat semen cryopreservation due to the remarkable influence of Urtica dioica on post-thawed sperm parameters.
