Urinary volatile constituents of the lion, Panthera leo.
The volatile components of urine from lions were investigated using GC-MS headspace techniques. Fifty-five compounds were found in the urine samples. Seven potential species-identifying compounds were found. Male lion scent marks overlapped significantly more in compound composition with other males than they did with female marks. A similar relationship was not found for the females. Males had a significantly higher absolute content of 2-butanone in their urine than females, and females had a significantly higher relative content of acetone than males. Samples from 13/16 individual lions overlapped more within the individual than they did with samples from the other individuals, but only seven significantly so.
D000096:Acetone / Q000652:urine; D000818:Animals; D002074:Butanones / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D008045:Lions / Q000652:urine*; D008297:Male; D009812:Odorants; D012737:Sex Factors