Till now, the exact role of melatonin in male infertility hasn’t
been fully discovered. Moreover, the intracellular signaling pathways
activated by melatonin in buffalo spermatozoa especially on the level of
cryopreservation process haven’t been reported. The current study aimed
simply to clarify the precise role of this hormone during buffalo semen
cryopreservation. Semen samples were obtained randomly from 6 fertile
buffalo bulls (aged 3 to 5 years). Weekly, two consecutive ejaculates were
collected from each bull for successive six weeks duration using an
artificial vagina. The ejaculates were pooled to eliminate variability
between the evaluated samples. After that, semen samples were subjected
to extension with Tris-based extender supplemented with different
concentrations of melatonin (0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1 mM) Vs. Tris-based
extender only (control). Then they were processed to cryopreservation and
thawing to assess the different semen characteristics. It had been found that
0.1 mM of melatonin significantly (p