Lactation in the Japanese monkey (Macaca fuscata): Yield and composition of milk and nipple preference of young |
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Authors: | K Ôta Y Makino Midori Kimura J Suzuki |
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Institution: | (1) School of Agriculture, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, 464-01 Nagoya, Aichi, Japan;(2) Laboratory Primate Center, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, 484 Inuyama, Aichi, Japan |
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Abstract: | Changes in the yield and chemical composition of milk, together with those in the nipple preferences and suckling behavior
of infants, were followed in three lactating Japanese monkeys rearing single infants under laboratory conditions at monthly
intervals for six months after their paturition. Milk accumulating in the mammary glands during a 4-hr separation of the infant
was collected by milking under anesthesia with the aid of a physiological dose of oxytocin.
The stage of full lactation appeared to last for about two or three months after parturition. The milk at this stage contained
14.0% of total solids, 4.2% of lipids, 1.6% of proteins, and 6.2% of lactose, and the concentrations of Na, Cl, and K in the
milk water were 7.4, 15.1, and 5.9 mM, respectively. From the 9th or 13th week of lactation onwards, according to the individual,
the milk composition changed appreciably and the time during which the young left hold of the mother's nipple also increased.
The weaning of young in the Japanese monkey appears to begin during the 3rd or 4th month of age. The milk production then
wanes and almost ceases by the end of the 6th month. The nipple preference of the young was generally established completely
by the 3rd, or the 8th at latest, week of age. However, no difference in either the yield or composition of the milk secreted
was found between the mammary glands of the preferred and non-preferred sides. Without regard to the apparent nipple preference,
infants seem to ingest milk from the mother's breasts of both sides.
Accurate estimation of the rate of milk production could not be achieved, but the rate was expected to be 150–200 g/day at
the height of lactation based on the relation between the mother's body weight and the milk production rates of other primate
species. A disparity was noted between the observed and estimated values for the milk yield, and a diurnal fluctuation in
the milk secretion of the Japanese monkey was inferred.
This study was conducted through the official system of the Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, for cooperative
research work with other institutions. |
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Keywords: | Japanese monkey (Macaca fuscata) Lactation Milk yield Milk composition Nipple preference Weaning |
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