Curcumin Attenuates Damage to Rooster Spermatozoa Exposed to Selected Uropathogens

Artificial insemination, as an essential pillar of the modern poultry industry, primarily depends on the quality of semen collected from stud roosters. Since the collection and storage of ejaculates is not a sterile process, antimicrobial agents have become essential supplements to semen extenders. While the use of traditional antibiotics has been challenged because of rising bacterial resistance, natural biomolecules represent an appealing alternative because of their antibacterial and antioxidant properties. As such, this study strived to compare the effects of 50 μmol/L curcumin (CUR) with 31.2 µg/mL kanamycin (KAN) as a conventional antibiotic on rooster sperm quality in the presence of Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Changes in sperm structural integrity and functional activity were monitored at 2 and 24 h of culture. Computer-assisted semen analysis revealed significant sperm motility preservation following treatment with KAN, particularly in the case of Salmonella enterica and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (p < 0.001) after 24 h. On the other hand, CUR was more effective in opposing ROS overproduction by all bacteria (p < 0.05), as determined by luminol-based luminometry, and maintained sperm mitochondrial activity (p < 0.001 in the case of Salmonella enterica; p < 0.05 with respect to Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), as assessed by the fluorometric JC-1 assay. The TUNEL assay revealed that CUR readily preserved the DNA integrity of rooster sperm exposed to Salmonella enterica (p < 0.01) and Escherichia coli (p < 0.001). The bacteriological analysis showed higher efficiency of KAN in preventing the growth of all selected bacterial species (p < 0.0001) as opposed to CUR. In conclusion, CUR provided protection to rooster spermatozoa against alterations caused by uropathogens, most likely through its antioxidant activity. Hence, CUR supplementation to poultry semen extenders in combination with properly selected antibacterial substances may become an interesting strategy in the management of bacterial contamination during semen storage.