Use of thiol compounds during in vitro maturation of buffalo oocytes: effects on embryo development

Abstract

Although great importance has been recently given to the in vitro embryo production (IVEP) techniques in buffalo species, the overall efficiency is still low because many physiological aspects of oocytes/embryos have not been properly investigated. It has been speculated that buffalo oocytes/embryos, due to their high lipid content (Boni et al., 1992), are particularly sensitive to the increased oxidative stress, that occurs under in vitro conditions (Gasparrini et al., 2003).

Keywords

• buffalo, cystine, glutathione, embryo development