Using natural honey as an anti-oxidant and thermodynamically efficient cryoprotectant in embryo vitrification.

Using natural honey as an anti-oxidant and thermodynamically efficient cryoprotectant in embryo vitrification. Cryobiology. 2019 Nov 04;: Authors: Sarmadi F, Kazemi P, Tirgar P, Fayazi S, Esfandiari S, Sotoodeh L, Molaeian S, Dashtizad M Abstract Embryo cryopreservation is a common practice in reproductive biology and infertility treatments. Despite major improvements over years, the cryoprotectant solutions are still a major source of concern, mostly due to their chemical toxicity and suboptimal protection against cryoinjuries. In this work, we introduced natural honey as a non-permeating cryoprotectant to replace traditionally used sucrose in embryo vitrification. The proposed media were compared with conventional ones by evaluating vitrified/warmed mouse embryos based on their re-expansion, hatching rate and transcription pattern of selected genes involved in heat-shock response, apoptosis and oxidative stress. Despite the similar high re-expansion rate, molecular fingerprint of the cryopreservation is remarkably reduced when honey is used instead of sucrose. The biological response of the proposed media was explained from a fundamental point of view using antioxidant analysis, DSC and GC techniques. It was found that the proposed honey-based medium is less thermodynamically prone to ice formation, which along with its antioxidant capacity can control the production of oxygen radicals and minimize the stress-induced transcriptiona...
Source: Cryobiology - Category: Biology Authors: Tags: Cryobiology Source Type: research