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Vital Studies on Bull Semen Using Triphenyltetrazolium Chloride¹

New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Sussex

ABSTRACT

Triphenyltetrazolium chloride is readily reduced to triphenylformazen, an insoluble red compound, by fresh dairy bull semen. Semen in which the spermatozoa have been killed by heat- and cold-shocking or by treatment with toluene also has the ability to reduce the compound, but to a lesser degree. The heating of semen to 82° C. for 20 min. destroyed its reducing ability. Seminal plasma exhibited no ability to reduce the tetrazolium.

As judged by the effects of tetrazolium on the length of time which spermatozoa will maintain motility when incubated at 46.5° C, tetrazolium is very toxic. This together with its inability to stain spermatozoa adequately in its reduced state, precludes its use as a vital stain for spermatozoa or in measuring spermatozoa viability.

¹ Paper of the Journal Series, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey, Department of Dairy Industry.