Effects of Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) Aqueous Extract on In vitro Maturation, Fertilization and Embryo Development of Mouse Oocytes

Objective: Lower pregnancy rates of in vitro matured oocytes compared to those of invivo stimulated cycles indicate that optimization of in vitro maturation (IVM) remains achallenge. Reduced developmental competence of in vitro matured oocytes shows thatcurrent culture systems for oocyte maturation do not adequately support nuclear and/orcytoplasmic maturation. Therefore this study evaluates the effects of different concentrationsof saffron (Crocus sativus L.) aqueous extract (SAE), as an antioxidant agent on IVMof immature mouse oocytes.Materials and Methods: In this experimental study ,cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs)were collected from 6-8 weeks old novel medical research institute (NMRI) female miceovaries. COCs were cultured in IVM medium supplemented with 0 (control), 5, 10, 20 and40 μg/ml of SAE in 5% CO2 at 37°C. The rates of maturation, fertilization and developmentwere recorded. ANOVA and Duncan’s protected least significant test, using the SASprogram was applied for all statistical analysis.Results: The maturation rate was significantly higher in all groups treated with differentconcentrations of SAE compared with the control group (p<0.05). However, the lowerconcentrations of SAE (10 and 5 μg/ml) in maturation medium respectively increased thefertilization rate of oocytes and in vitro developmental competence when compared withthe control group (p<0.05).Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that lower concentrations of SAE are moreappropriate to be added to maturation medium when compared with other experimental andcontrol groups. Generally, we conclude that addition of appropriate amounts of natural extractssuch as SAE to maturation medium improves oocyte maturation and embryo development.