Measurement of corticosterone metabolites in birds' droppings: an analytical approach.
Fecal steroid analyses are becoming increasingly popular among both field and laboratory scientists. The benefits associated with sampling procedures that do not require restraint, anesthesia, and blood collection include less risk to subject and investigator, as well as the potential to obtain endocrine profiles that are not influenced by the sampling procedure itself. In the feces, a species-specific pattern of metabolites is present, because glucocorticoids are extensively metabolized. Therefore, selection of adequate extraction procedures and immunoassays for measuring the relevant metabolites is a serious issue. In this review, emphasis is placed on the establishment and analytical validation of methods to measure glucocorticoid metabolites for a noninvasive evaluation of adrenocortical activity in droppings of birds.
Möstl
Erich
E
Institute of Biochemistry, Department of Natural Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, A-1210 Vienna, Austria. erich.moestl@vu-wien.ac.at
Rettenbacher
Sophie
S
Palme
Rupert
R
D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000378:metabolism*; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D007118:Immunoassay; D015394:Molecular Structure; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D003345:Corticosterone