PARTICIPATION OF SEMINAL PLASMA DURING THE PASSAGE OF SPERMATOZOA IN THE FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE TRACT OF THE PIG AND HORSE

Abstract

SUMMARY: Chemical methods for the analysis of three characteristic constituents of seminal plasma, namely, fructose, citric acid and ergothioneine, were applied in an attempt to evaluate in a quantitative manner the participation of seminal plasma in the passage of sperm along the female reproductive tract of two species, the pig and the horse. At specified intervals after mating, the reproductive tract of the gilt and the mare, respectively, was exposed, the uterine horns and Fallopian tubes clamped into several segments and the contents of the isolated portions withdrawn for analysis. In the gilt, about 40 min after mating, the uterine horns were found to be filled with semen containing spermatozoa, as well as fructose, ergothioneine and citric acid, but 6 hr after mating the bulk of sperm and seminal plasma had disappeared. In the mare, 50 min after mating, spermatozoa, ergothioneine and citric acid were recovered from both uterine horns, in proportions resembling those found in fresh stallion semen.