Abstract
Preparation of oocytes is one of the critical factors that determine the developmental competence of embryos produced by in vitro fertilization (IVF). The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different maturation media on the nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation of buffalo oocytes. Also, to investigate if the addition of ginseng and fenugreek to the maturation media during in vitro maturation (IVM) would influence on IVM, and developmental competence of buffalo oocytes as well as intracellular GSH level. Three experiments were conducted to achieve the goals of present study. In the first experiment, the buffalo oocytes were cultured in different media without any supplementations to detect the most suitable effective medium for IVM. The second experiment compared between different culture media for IVM of oocytes through measurement of intracellular glutathione level. The third experiment examined the effect of ginseng and fenugreek additives during the IVM of Egyptian buffalo oocytes. The results of this study proved that the TCM-199 medium significantly increased the percentage of cumulus expansion, nuclear maturation and intracellular GSH concentration after IVM of buffalo oocytes, while CR 1 aa was the least effective medium. Treatment with ginseng and fenugreek extracts during IVM culture efficiently improves the development competence of buffalo oocytes, and this improvement is correlated with increase of intracellular GSH concentration. In conclusion, TCM-199 was the most effective medium and is desirable for in vitro maturation of Egyptian buffalo oocytes. Ginseng and fenugreek additives enhanced the quality of less effective medium (CR 1 aa), as well as optimized the effect of TCM-199 medium.