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Zhang Z, Hou R, Lan J, Wang H, Kurokawa H, Takatsu Z, Kobayashi T, Koie H, Kamata H, Kanayama K, Watanabe T. Analysis of the breast milk of giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and the preparation of substitutes. J Vet Med Sci 2016; 78:747-54. [PMID: 26781707 PMCID: PMC4905826 DOI: 10.1292/jvms.15-0677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The first milk substitute for giant panda cubs was developed in 1988 based on limited
data about giant panda breast milk and that of certain types of bear. Mixtures of other
formulas have also been fed to cubs at some facilities. However, they are not of
sufficient nutritional quality for promoting growth in panda cubs. Here, we report
analysis of giant panda breast milk and propose new milk substitutes for cubs, which were
developed based on the results of our analysis. The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda
Breeding obtained breast milk samples from three giant pandas. Up to 30
ml of breast milk were collected from each mother by hand. Then, the
milk samples were frozen and sent to Nihon University. The levels of protein, fat,
carbohydrates, ash, moisture, vitamins, minerals, total amino acids, fatty acids, lactose
and other carbohydrates in the milk were analyzed. The breast milk samples exhibited the
following nutritional values: protein: 6.6–8.5%, fat: 6.9–16.4%, carbohydrates: 2.5–9.1%,
ash: 0.9–1.0% and moisture: 67–83%. We designed two kinds of milk substitutes based on the
data obtained and the nutritional requirements of dogs, cats and rodents. The nutritional
composition of the milk substitutes for the first and second stages was as follows:
protein: 38 and 26%, fat: 40 and 40%, carbohydrates: 13 and 25%, ash: 6 and 6% and
moisture: 3 and 3%, respectively. In addition, the substitutes contained vitamins,
minerals, taurine, docosahexaenoic acid, lactoferrin, nucleotides and other nutrients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhihe Zhang
- Sichuan Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology for Endangered Wildlife, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Chengdu, Sichuan, P. R. China
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Zhang T, Zhang R, Zhang L, Zhang Z, Hou R, Wang H, Loeffler IK, Watson DG, Kennedy MW. Changes in the Milk Metabolome of the Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) with Time after Birth--Three Phases in Early Lactation and Progressive Individual Differences. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0143417. [PMID: 26630345 PMCID: PMC4668050 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0143417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2015] [Accepted: 11/04/2015] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Ursids (bears) in general, and giant pandas in particular, are highly altricial at birth. The components of bear milks and their changes with time may be uniquely adapted to nourish relatively immature neonates, protect them from pathogens, and support the maturation of neonatal digestive physiology. Serial milk samples collected from three giant pandas in early lactation were subjected to untargeted metabolite profiling and multivariate analysis. Changes in milk metabolites with time after birth were analysed by Principal Component Analysis, Hierarchical Cluster Analysis and further supported by Orthogonal Partial Least Square-Discriminant Analysis, revealing three phases of milk maturation: days 1–6 (Phase 1), days 7–20 (Phase 2), and beyond day 20 (Phase 3). While the compositions of Phase 1 milks were essentially indistinguishable among individuals, divergences emerged during the second week of lactation. OPLS regression analysis positioned against the growth rate of one cub tentatively inferred a correlation with changes in the abundance of a trisaccharide, isoglobotriose, previously observed to be a major oligosaccharide in ursid milks. Three artificial milk formulae used to feed giant panda cubs were also analysed, and were found to differ markedly in component content from natural panda milk. These findings have implications for the dependence of the ontogeny of all species of bears, and potentially other members of the Carnivora and beyond, on the complexity and sequential changes in maternal provision of micrometabolites in the immediate period after birth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tong Zhang
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Rong Zhang
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
- Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Liang Zhang
- Sichuan Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology for Endangered Wildlife, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Northern Suburb, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, P.R. China
| | - Zhihe Zhang
- Sichuan Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology for Endangered Wildlife, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Northern Suburb, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, P.R. China
| | - Rong Hou
- Sichuan Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology for Endangered Wildlife, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Northern Suburb, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, P.R. China
| | - Hairui Wang
- Sichuan Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology for Endangered Wildlife, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Northern Suburb, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, P.R. China
| | - I. Kati Loeffler
- Sichuan Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology for Endangered Wildlife, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Northern Suburb, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, P.R. China
| | - David G. Watson
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Malcolm W. Kennedy
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary, and Life Sciences, Graham Kerr Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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Griffiths K, Hou R, Wang H, Zhang Z, Zhang L, Zhang T, Watson DG, Burchmore RJS, Loeffler IK, Kennedy MW. Prolonged transition time between colostrum and mature milk in a bear, the giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2015; 2:150395. [PMID: 26587250 PMCID: PMC4632522 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.150395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2015] [Accepted: 09/21/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Bears produce the most altricial neonates of any placental mammal. We hypothesized that the transition from colostrum to mature milk in bears reflects a temporal and biochemical adaptation for altricial development and immune protection. Comparison of bear milks with milks of other eutherians yielded distinctive protein profiles. Proteomic and metabolomic analysis of serial milk samples collected from six giant pandas showed a prolonged transition from colostrum to main-phase lactation over approximately 30 days. Particularly striking are the persistence or sequential appearance of adaptive and innate immune factors. The endurance of immunoglobulin G suggests an unusual duration of trans-intestinal absorption of maternal antibodies, and is potentially relevant to the underdeveloped lymphoid system of giant panda neonates. Levels of certain milk oligosaccharides known to exert anti-microbial activities and/or that are conducive to the development of neonatal gut microbiomes underwent an almost complete changeover around days 20-30 postpartum, coincident with the maturation of the protein profile. A potential metabolic marker of starvation was detected, the prominence of which may reflect the natural postpartum period of anorexia in giant panda mothers. Early lactation in giant pandas, and possibly in other ursids, appears to be adapted for the unique requirements of unusually altricial eutherian neonates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate Griffiths
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Graham err Building, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Rong Hou
- The Sichuan Key Laboratory for Conservation Biology on Endangered Wildlife, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, 1375 Panda Road, Northern Suburb, Chengdu, Sichuan Province 610081, People’s Republic of China
| | - Hairui Wang
- The Sichuan Key Laboratory for Conservation Biology on Endangered Wildlife, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, 1375 Panda Road, Northern Suburb, Chengdu, Sichuan Province 610081, People’s Republic of China
| | - Zhihe Zhang
- The Sichuan Key Laboratory for Conservation Biology on Endangered Wildlife, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, 1375 Panda Road, Northern Suburb, Chengdu, Sichuan Province 610081, People’s Republic of China
| | - Liang Zhang
- The Sichuan Key Laboratory for Conservation Biology on Endangered Wildlife, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, 1375 Panda Road, Northern Suburb, Chengdu, Sichuan Province 610081, People’s Republic of China
| | - Tong Zhang
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, 161 Cathedral Street, Glasgow, G4 0RE, UK
| | - David G. Watson
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, 161 Cathedral Street, Glasgow, G4 0RE, UK
| | - Richard J. S. Burchmore
- Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation and Glasgow Polyomics, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Garscube Campus, Glasgow, G12 1QH, UK
| | - I. Kati Loeffler
- The Sichuan Key Laboratory for Conservation Biology on Endangered Wildlife, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, 1375 Panda Road, Northern Suburb, Chengdu, Sichuan Province 610081, People’s Republic of China
| | - Malcolm W. Kennedy
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Graham err Building, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
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Xuanzhen L, Mingxi L, Jianqiu Y, Zhihe Z, Xiangming H, Jingchao L, Zhi Y. Composition of captive giant panda milk. Zoo Biol 2005. [DOI: 10.1002/zoo.20056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Nakamura T, Urashima T, Mizukami T, Fukushima M, Arai I, Senshu T, Imazu K, Nakao T, Saito T, Ye Z, Zuo H, Wu K. Composition and oligosaccharides of a milk sample of the giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca. Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol 2003; 135:439-48. [PMID: 12831764 DOI: 10.1016/s1096-4959(03)00093-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
A milk sample from a captive giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), obtained at 13 days postpartum, contained 7.1% protein, 1.6% carbohydrate, 10.4% lipid and 0.9% ash. The ratio of casein to whey proteins was 5.0:2.1. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of the whey protein fraction showed the presence of at least two major proteins other than alpha-lactalbumin and beta-lactoglobulin. SDS-PAGE and urea-gel electrophoresis showed that alphas-casein is not a major component. The proportions of triacylglycerol, cholesterol, cholesterol esters and phospholipid were 90.5, 5.3, 0.96 and 3.1%, of the total lipid, respectively. The dominant saccharide in the panda milk was Gal(alpha1-3)Gal(beta1-4)Glc (isoglobotriose). The milk contained, in addition, lesser amounts of lactose, Gal(alpha1-3)Gal(beta1-4)[Fuc(alpha1-3)]Glc (fucosyl isoglobotriose), Neu5Ac(alpha2-3)Gal(beta1-4)Glc (3'-N-acetylneuraminyl-lactose), Neu5Ac(alpha2-6)Gal(beta1-4)Glc (6'-N-acetylneuraminyl-lactose) and Neu5Ac(alpha2-3)Gal(beta1-4)[Fuc(alpha1-3)]Glc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tadashi Nakamura
- Department of Bioresource Science, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada-cho, Obihiro, Hokkaido, 080-8555, Japan.
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