Effect of Pterostilbene on development, equatorial lipid accumulation and ROS production of in vitro-produced bovine embryos.

The Pterostilbene (PT) molecule is a phytoalexin with a reducing-effect on reactive oxygen species (ROS) and with a capacity to block lipogenesis. However, the potential reducing effects of PT on equatorial lipid accumulation and ROS have not yet been elucidated for in vitro-derived bovine embryos. The present study evaluated the effects of concentrations of 3, 1, 0.33, 0.11 μM PT, and a vehicle group on the percentage of cleaved embryos, embryos with more than 6 cells, percentage of blastocyts on Day 7 and 8, percentage of transferable embryos on Day 7, the cell count and relative concentration of lipids. In the second experiment, the effects of 0.33 μM PT and a vehicle group within two different O2 environments (5% and 20%) were evaluated for ROS generation and the percentage of Day 8 blastocysts. In the first experiment, no significant differences were found between the treatments with PT and the vehicle group (p>0.05) concerning the percentage of cleaved embryos and embryos with more than 6 cells. Lipid reduction was observed in the groups treated with PT versus the vehicle group (p 0.05). In the second experiment, the O2 concentration did not significantly affect ROS generation (p>0.05); however, the groups treated with PT (0.33 μM) had a reduction in ROS (p<0.05). The O2 concentration also did not significantly affect the rate of blastocyst production on Day 8 (p= 0.7696). Future research should be conducted to ascertain whether the reduction of lipids could enhance the cryopreservation and post-thaw viability of PT treated embryos.