Abstract: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of different linolenic acid （ALA） concentrations （0， 10， 50， 100 and 200 μmol·L-1） during in vitro oocyte maturation （IVM） and in vitro embryo culture （IVC） on the maturation of oocytes and developmental competence of preimplantation embryo in buffalo. The oocytes from abattoir ovaries were matured and fertilized， and presumptive zygotes were cultured in the medium， then the maturation rate cleavage and blastocyst development rate were examined， respectively. The results showed that the maturation rate of oocytes treated with 50 μmol·L-1ALA was significantly increased （74.18%） compared with the control and other supplemental groups （P＜0.05）， and the blastocyst development rate of oocytes treated with 50 μmol·L-1ALA （33.24%） was significantly higher than those of the control and 10 μmol·L-1 ALA supplemental groups（P＜0.05）. The presence of 50 μmol·L-1 ALA in IVC resulted in a significantly higher blastocyst development rate （34.52%） compared to the control and 100 μmol·L-1 ALA supplemental groups （P＜0.05）; The ALA with different concentrations were added to both IVM and IVC， cleavage rates in the group of 200 μmol·L-1 ALA was significantly higher than that of the control （P＜0.05）， while blastocyst development rate and percentage of Day 7 blastocysts showed no difference. In conclusion， addition of 50 μmol·L-1 ALA to either IVM or IVC in vitro can promote the maturation rate of buffalo oocytes and blastocyst development.

Key words: linolenic acid, in vitro oocyte maturation, oocyte, embryo development, buffalo