The extender is a biological medium that maintains the functionality of the sperm for a certain period, minimizing the effects of cell aging and thus preserving the functional characteristics of the sperm cells, while controlling bacterial contamination (GADEA, 2003). In general, pig extenders are classified into two types: those considered short-term (up to 3 days) and those considered long-term (greater than 4 days) (YESTE, 2017).
Concerning long-term extenders, also called high-performance extenders, they have in their composition an energy source, buffering agents, electrolytes, and antibiotics. Also, they may have membrane-stabilizing agents and antioxidants (YESTE, 2017), which maintain a longer lifespan for sperm, making it possible to use doses for up to 7 days without affecting reproductive performance (LUCCA et al., 2020).
In a recent study carried out in the USA using 927 sows from a system of 60 thousand sows, the use of Duragen® extender (high-performance extender) was compared to another extender. The observed results were similar for pregnancy rate (91.6 vs. 92.8%) and farrowing rate (89.2 vs. 90.8%), respectively. However, there was an effect on the number of total births. The high-performance extender Duragen, showed 0.694 more total born piglets when compared to the results of the other extender.
Therefore, under the conditions of this study, it was possible to prove that the use of high-performance extenders increases the reproductive safety of your farm.
