Chemical Identification and Bioactivity of Rat (Rattus rattus) Urinary Compounds

• Main Authors: Ramasamy Selvaraj, Govindaraju Archunan
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2001
• Subjects: Key words; Urine; Pheromone; Chemical characterization; Social behavior; Rat. Zoological Studies 41(2; 127-135 (2002; Rattus rattus
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.464.1453; http://zoolstud.sinica.edu.tw/Journals/41.2/127.pdf

rattus) urinary compounds. Zoological Studies 41(2): 127-135. House rat urine was analyzed to identify the chemical compounds by gas chromatography-linked mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Male rat urine contained ethanol,2-(octylthio) (I), 1,3,5 triazone-2,4-diamine (II), and 1-chlorodecane (III). Similarly, female urine (during estrus) had the 3 compounds hydroperoxide (IV), 1-nitropentane (V), and 4-azidoheptane (VI). The bioactivity of these identified compounds were assayed using a Y-maze apparatus. Odor preference test revealed that the identified compounds show opposite-sex as well as same-sex attraction. Male urinary compounds such as ethanol,2-(octylthio) (I) and 1-chlorodecane (III) exhibited an attraction to the opposite sex, whereas the com-pound 1,3,5 triazone-2,4-diamine (II) was shown to attract the same sex. However, the compounds hydroper-oxide and 4-azidoheptane were found to show maximum response in the attraction of the opposite sex. By contrast, the compound 1-nitropentane attracted both sexes, with a maximum response to the opposite sex. The results indicate that the compounds identified in the male urine are sex specific. The present investiga-tions also show that rat urine contains a mixture of volatile compounds whose bioactivities differ from com-pound to compound.