Urinary volatiles

Since these make up 80% of the urinary volatiles and elicit several specific behavioural and endocrine responses, they are clearly a major signal source. The range of effects induced by these compounds suggests that famesenes are likely to act via both the MOS and the AOS. 

Boyer M., Jemiolo B., Andreolini F Wiesler D. and Novotny M. (1989). Urinary volatile profiles of Pine Vole, M. pinetorum and their endocrine dependancy. J Chem Ecol 15, 649-662. 

Jemiolo B., Gubemick D.J., Yoder M.C. and Novotny M. (1994). Chemical characterization of urinary volatile compounds of Peromyscus califomicus, a monogamous biparental rodent. J Chem Ecol 20, 2489-2500. 

Ma W. and Klemm W.R. (1997). Variations in equine urinary volatile compounds during the estrus cycle. Vet Res Comm 21, 437-446. 

Ma W.D., Wiesler D. and Novotny M.V. (1999). Urinary volatile profiles of the deermouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) pertaining to gender and age. J Chem Ecol 25, 417-431. 

Fig. 1.4 Comparative male mouse urinary volatile profiles for (A) Mus domesticus and (B) Mus spicilegus by GC-MS with characteristic chemical structures...

Schwende, F.J., Wiesler, D., Jorgenson, J.W., Carmack, M. and Novotny, M. (1986) Urinary volatile constituents of the house mouse (Mus musculus) and their endocrine dependency. J. Chem. Ecol. 12, 277-296. 

Behavioral observations of male white-tailed deer indicate that urine could play a role in olfactory communication in this animal [131]. To extend the knowledge of the urinary volatiles of the white-tailed deer and to investigate the possibility that vaginal mucus could also carry semiochemical information, Jemiolo et al. [132] studied the qualitative and concentration changes in the profiles of the volatiles present in these excretions. Forty-four volatiles were found in the mucus and 63 in female urine. The volatiles common to both vaginal mucus and urine included alcohols, aldehydes, furans, ketones, alkanes, and alkenes. Aromatic hydrocarbons were found only in the mucus, whereas pyrans, amines, esters and phenols were found only in the urine. Both estrous mucus and estrous urine could be identified by the presence of specific compounds that were not present in mid-cycle samples. Numerous compounds exhibited dependency on ovarian hormones. 

M. J. Hill, A. J. Taylor, M. H. Thompson and R. Wait, Fecal steroids and urinary volatile phenols in four Scandinavian populations, Nutr. Cancer, 1982, 4(1), 67. 

A mammal may emit many volatile compounds. Humans, for instance, give off hundreds of volatiles, many of them chemically identified (Ellin etal., 1974). The volatiles include many classes of compound such as acids (gerbil), ketones, lactones, sulfides (golden hamster), phenolics (beaver, elephant), acetates (mouse), terpenes (elephant), butyrate esters (tamarins), among others. The human samples mentioned before contained hydrocarbons, unsaturated hydrocarbons, alcohols, acids, ketones, aldehydes, esters, nitriles, aromatics, heterocyclics, sulfur compounds, ethers, and halogenated hydrocarbons. Sulfur compounds are found in carnivores, such as foxes, coyotes, or mustelids. The major volatile compound in urine of female coyotes, Canis latrans, is methyl 3-methylhut-3-enyl sulfide, which accounts for at least 50% of all urinary volatiles (Schultz etal, 1988). 

Achiraman S, Archunan G (2002) Characterization of urinary volatiles in Swiss male mice (Mus musculus) bioassay of identified compounds. J Biosci 27 679-686... 

III) coordination polymer sorbent to trap selectively various oxygenated compounds from a complex mixture of urinary volatile metabolites. 

Possibilities of sample losses on the surface of matrices used in solid sampling are of some concern. While such phenomena were not observed in work with urinary volatiles [49] and steroids [50], Lines et al. [51] found some response non-linearity with pesticide samples that appeared to originate from the excessive sample retention on the capsule wall. Silylation of the capsule material visibly improved quantita-... 

Fig. 3.10. Chromatograms of urinary volatiles of a normal man as recorded on glass capillary columns of different polarity (A) 38 m column coated with Emulphor and (B) 80 m column coated with SF-96 silicone fluid. Reproduced from [106 by permission of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry.

MA, W., KLEMM, W.R., Variations of equine urinary volatile compounds during the oestrous cycle. Vet. Res. Commun., 1997, 21,437-446. 

Andersen, K. F., and Vulpius, T., 1999, Urinary volatile constituents of the lion, Panthera leo, Chem. Senses 24 179-189. 

The analysis of the composition of urinary volatiles was carried out throughout the entire year and covered all phases of panda reproduction. Four selected samples are shown in Figure 1. The pattern of urinary volatiles remained relatively constant during the first two months. It consists of approximately seven basic substances (with a retention... 

Figure 1. Profiles of urinary estradiol and pregnanetriol (center) througout the year 2002. The composition of urinary volatiles was compared by SPME and GC-MS. The total ion chromatogramms (TIC) of four selected samples are shown including the sample taken on the day of the estrogen increase (11 April), which is dominated by the appearance of fatty acids (Cs, Cio, Cu).

The measurements of urinary volatiles were continued in 2003. Comparable to 2002 estrogenic activity remained low during the first three months. On 6 April estrogens started to increase, reaching a maximal secretion on 10 April followed by an unexpected drop and a second increase with a peak at five days later (15 April). Both estrogen increases were accompanied by the appearance of urinary fatty acids (Figure 4), which... 

URINARY VOLATILES ENDOCRINOLOGICAL DEPENDENCE AND BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF THEIR SYNTHETIC ANALOGS... 

Figure 2. Representative chromatograms of the urinary volatiles from dominant (upper) and subordinate (lower) male mice. The peaks marked as 1 and 2 correspond to 3,4-dehydro-cxo-brevicomin and 2-.yec-butyl-4,5-dihy-drothiazole, respectively. Reproduced from Experientia (Novotny, Harvey Jemiolo, 1990) with permission of Birkhauser Verlag Basel, Switzerland.

The rate of evaporation of the molecule is influenced by many factors. For example, urinary volatiles are released in an aqueous solution, and the rate of loss of water from the deposit (and thus, local airflow and humidity) will affect the rate of drying, and the loss of those volatiles. The deposition pattern may reflect an awareness of the need to replenish a signal site— it is reasonable to assume that the frequency of replenishment is related, at least in part, to the rate of loss of the signal. To illustrate, the need to sustain a signal over an extended period might result in the repeated deposition of mouse urine in posts (Figure 1). 

Based on the recent study and the suggestions that the pubertydelaying activity is lost after exposure of urine to air at room temperature (Coppola and Vandenbergh, 1985) and that the puberty-inhibition affect may be associated with the adrenal function (Drickamer and McIntosh, 1980), we decided to study quantitative chemical differences between the urinary excretion patterns of intact and adrenalectomized grouped females. The urinary volatile substances were subsequently identified and tested for biological activity. The samples were analyzed using the headspace technique described previously by our laboratory (Novotny et al., 1974). 

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