Lee T M, Moltz H
Physiol Behav. 1984 Dec;33(6):931-5. doi: 10.1016/0031-9384(84)90232-4.
Preweanling rats selectively approach and consume pheromone-containing maternal feces. This selectivity suggests that the consumption of maternal feces might be important for the growing pup. We tested the hypothesis that such feces, because of their high deoxycholic acid content, may protect against acute enteritis. A series of experiments was carried out in which pups were denied access to maternal feces. These pups died more often from acute enteritis than control pups. Additional confirmation of the hypothesis was obtained when feces-denied young fed deoxycholic acid showed a significantly lower mortality than feces-denied young fed laboratory chow alone.
断奶前的大鼠会选择性地接近并食用含有信息素的母鼠粪便。这种选择性表明，食用母鼠粪便可能对幼崽的成长很重要。我们测试了这样一个假设，即由于其高脱氧胆酸含量，这种粪便可能预防急性肠炎。我们进行了一系列实验，在这些实验中，幼崽无法接触到母鼠粪便。这些幼崽死于急性肠炎的频率比对照幼崽更高。当喂食脱氧胆酸的缺粪幼崽的死亡率显著低于仅喂食实验室饲料的缺粪幼崽时，该假设得到了进一步证实。
