EFEITO DE DIFERENTES DILUENTES NA MANUTENÇÃO DAS CARACTERÍSTICAS DO SÊMEN EQÜINO EM DOIS SISTEMAS DE REFRIGERAÇÃO PASSIVA

The use of equine cooled transported semen is increasing significantly in the whole world; this is in consequence of the advantages and improvement of the cooling semen technology. The aim of the present study was to compare three commercial extenders for cooling equine semen (Botusemen ® ; Botu-Turbo ® e INRA 96 ® ) using two Brazilian commercial containers (Botu-Box ® e Botutainer ® ) for cooling and storage. Three ejaculates from four stallions from different breeds were used. The samples were evaluated at 0, 6, 12 and 24 hours using CASA for estimate the total and progressive motility and the plasma membrane integrity assessed using fluorescent probes. According to the results, there was no difference on sperm parameters (P>0.05) when comparing both the cooling/storage containers and the extenders used. Thus, is possible to conclude that the extenders and the containers were efficient on maintaining the motility and viability of semen cooled/stored during 24 hours, being a new proposal for equine cooled semen technology. KEY WORDS: Container, cooled semen, equine, extender.