Abstract
After cryopreservation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) can damage sperm. Antioxidants are the primary defense against oxidative damage. Berberine is a bioactive alkaloid found in Berberis vulgaris, Curcuma longa, and Ergon grape, and is a potent antioxidant. Due to the negative effects of free radicals in oxidative stress processes, antioxidant chemicals are required to protect sperm. However, berberine has low bioavailability, making it less effective. Loading techniques on nanoparticles and nanotechnology can help overcome this limitation. Selenium nanoparticles were synthesized with barberry extract, and berberine was loaded on them. Berberine nanoparticles were then synthesized using anti-solvent precipitation with a syringe pump technique. The synthesis of nanoparticles was confirmed by EDX, UV-visible, FE-SEM, Zeta-Potential, and FTIR tests. In this experiment, we aim to investigate the impact of nano-berberine and berberine loaded on Se-NPs on goat sperm parameters after freeze-thawing. We assessed the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), in vitro fertility, and the subsequent embryo development of zygote with treated sperm after determining the optimal concentration of various chemicals on sperm parameters. The study found that all treatments had significant differences from the control group in terms of motility, viability, DNA and membrane integrity, ROS level, lipid peroxidation, in vitro fertility ability, and the capacity to develop inseminated oocytes (p < 0.05). The most significant outcomes were observed with berberine loaded on Se-NPs and the combination of selenium nanoparticles with berberine nanoparticles.