Lutz C K, Tiefenbacher S, Jorgensen M J, Meyer J S, Novak M A
Harvard Medical School, New England Regional Primate Research Center, Southborough, Massachusetts, USA.
Am J Primatol. 2000 Oct;52(2):93-9. doi: 10.1002/1098-2345(200010)52:2<93::AID-AJP3>3.0.CO;2-B.
Cortisol levels serve as an index of pituitary-adrenal activity in nonhuman primates. In adult monkeys, cortisol is normally measured in blood (typically requiring restraint or sedation) or urine (reflecting a state rather than point estimate). In contrast, saliva collection is less invasive than drawing blood and allows for repeated sampling within a short period of time. Although protocols exist for collecting saliva from young monkeys, these procedures are inadequate for awake, unrestrained adult animals. Our laboratory has developed two methods for collecting saliva from adult rhesus monkeys: a "screen" method, which involves licking screen-covered gauze, and a "pole" method, which involves sucking and chewing on an attached rope. Twenty-three adult male rhesus monkeys were used to evaluate these two methods. After a period of adaptation, saliva samples were collected from 21 of 23 subjects. Saliva collection was faster with the pole than with the screen method (P < 0.01), but the pole method was not suitable for some animals because of their tendency to bite off the attached rope. An analysis of 19 saliva samples revealed a mean cortisol concentration of 0.84 microg/dl (range 0.27-1.77 microg/dl). There was no statistically significant difference in cortisol value between methods used (P > 0.22). The influence of the flavoring on the cortisol assay was tested, and was found to have no significant effect (P > 0.28). Our results indicate that either technique can be used to safely collect saliva from unrestrained adult monkeys. Choice of technique will depend on the proclivities of individual monkeys.
皮质醇水平是非人类灵长类动物垂体 - 肾上腺活动的一个指标。在成年猴子中，皮质醇通常通过血液（通常需要约束或镇静）或尿液来测量（反映一种状态而非单点估计）。相比之下，收集唾液比抽血侵入性小，并且允许在短时间内重复采样。虽然存在从幼猴收集唾液的方案，但这些程序对于清醒、不受约束的成年动物来说并不适用。我们实验室已经开发出两种从成年恒河猴收集唾液的方法：一种是“筛网”法，即让猴子舔覆盖有筛网的纱布；另一种是“杆子”法，即让猴子吮吸并咀嚼附着的绳子。使用23只成年雄性恒河猴来评估这两种方法。经过一段时间的适应后，从23只猴子中的21只收集了唾液样本。使用“杆子”法收集唾液比“筛网”法更快（P < 0.01），但“杆子”法对一些动物不适用，因为它们有咬断附着绳子的倾向。对19份唾液样本的分析显示，皮质醇平均浓度为0.84微克/分升（范围为0.27 - 1.77微克/分升）。所使用的方法之间皮质醇值没有统计学上的显著差异（P > 0.22）。测试了调味剂对皮质醇测定的影响，发现没有显著影响（P > 0.28）。我们的结果表明，这两种技术都可用于安全地从不受约束的成年猴子收集唾液。技术的选择将取决于个体猴子的习性。
