# Alginate Silver Nanoparticles and Their Effect on Sperm Parameters of the Domestic Rabbit
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Analysis of Morphological Changes in Rabbit Sperm
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c c c} \hline \hline  & **Control 0 h** & **Control 24 h** & **Alg 24 h** & **AgNP AlgX 24 h** & **AgNP AlgB 24 h** \\ \hline Intact spermatozoa & 89.70 \(\pm\) 1.23 & 88.79 \(\pm\) 2.41 \({}^{\text{cd}}\) & 82.76 \(\pm\) 2.29 \({}^{\text{cd}}\) & 75.43 \(\pm\) 3.34 \({}^{\text{c}}\) & 65.91 \(\pm\) 3.42 \({}^{\text{d}}\) \\ Protoplasmic droplet & 2.03 \(\pm\) 0.21 & 1.43 \(\pm\) 0.23 \({}^{\text{e}}\) & 2.80 \(\pm\) 0.41 & 2.53 \(\pm\) 0.44 & 2.90 \(\pm\) 0.40 \({}^{\text{e}}\) \\ Looped tail & 2.83 \(\pm\) 0.92 & 3.57 \(\pm\) 1.34 \({}^{\text{f}}\) & 5.43 \(\pm\) 1.53 \({}^{\text{g}}\) & 8.10 \(\pm\) 1.84 \({}^{\text{f}}\) & 16.37 \(\pm\) 1.98 \(\%\) \\ Coiled tail & 0.47 \(\pm\) 0.12 & 0.57 \(\pm\) 0.22 \({}^{\text{h}}\) & 1.03 \(\pm\) 0.28 \({}^{\text{hi}}\) & 2.93 \(\pm\) 0.51 \({}^{\text{hi}}\) & 4.53 \(\pm\) 0.92 \({}^{\text{i}}\) \\ Acrosomal defect & 1.23 \(\pm\) 0.16 & 1.30 \(\pm\) 0.24 \({}^{\text{j}}\) & 1.90 \(\pm\) 0.20 & 2.30 \(\pm\) 0.30 \({}^{\text{j}}\) & 2.37 \(\pm\) 0.35 \\ Damaged sperm & 3.10 \(\pm\) 0.29 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 3.80 \(\pm\) 0.63 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 5.10 \(\pm\) 0.71 & 7.57 \(\pm\) 1.41 & 6.67 \(\pm\) 1.14 \\ Agglutination & 0.63 \(\pm\) 0.08 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 0.53 \(\pm\) 0.16 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 0.97 \(\pm\) 0.20 & 1.13 \(\pm\) 0.27 & 1.27 \(\pm\) 0.22 \\ Secondary changes & 10.30 \(\pm\) 1.23 & 11.20 \(\pm\) 2.41 \({}^{\text{k}}\) & 17.23 \(\pm\) 2.30 \({}^{\text{1}}\) & 24.57 \(\pm\) 3.35 \({}^{\text{1}}\) & 34.10 \(\pm\) 3.42 \({}^{\text{kl}}\) \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* The values represent the mean and standard error, expressed \(\%\); letters \({}^{\text{a}}\) to \({}^{\text{1}}\) in superscript—averages between groups in the columns marked with the same letters are significantly different (\(p<0.05\)).  
\end{table} 
Table 3: The average damage and morphological changes in rabbit spermatozoa after exposure to tested silver compounds. accumulate in the testes, or epididymides, impairing their reproductive and endocrine function. Metals, or rather their specific chemical forms, have a greater ability to penetrate the blood-nucleus barrier, increasing the probability that these compounds will accumulate in the organs of the reproductive system, and later in semen. An example of a metal compound with the ability to penetrate the blood-nucleus barrier is methyl mercury or silver nanoparticles [73; 74]. It has been shown that AgNPs can affect spermatogenesis, reduce the amount of sperm stored in the epididymis or increase the level of germ cell damage [69; 75]. A study by [PERSON] et al. [74] showed that silver nanoparticles can induce changes in the levels of sex hormones and modify the morphology or viability of sperm, as observed in rats and rabbits. Sperm damage after prolonged exposure (7-126 days) in vivo to silver nanoparticles was found in ejaculated sperm obtained from rabbits after a single intravenous injection of AgNP at a dose of 0.6 mg/kg. AgNP was found in the cytoplasm of Sertoli cells and in the elongating nuclei of spermatids. Analysis using TEM showed damage to the ultrastructure of spermatids, mainly focused on the acrosome and mitochondrial integrity. The highest percentage of abnormal sperm was found after 7 days of exposure (more than 50%) [76]. [PERSON] et al. [77] found a dose-dependent decrease in total sperm motility, as well as their progressive movement, in rats after dermal injection of AgNP at doses of 10 and 50 mg/kg body weight and 7- and 28-day exposures, to levels significantly below the acceptable 50%. The inability of such a large percentage of cells to move indicates full disruption of their biological role. The problem of increasing the resistance of microorganisms to antibiotics results in a search for other substances, agents with antibacterial activity, which could replace antibiotics in semen diluents. [PERSON] [24] in their study identified the antibacterial properties of EDTA, bestatin and chitosan-based metal nanoparticles as alternatives to antibiotics.