Abstract
Research data on milk composition in cetaceans are scattered and fragmentary. This paper analyses the gross and mineral composition, the fatty acids profile and the fat globule size of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) colostrum and milk at early lactation. The milk samplings were carried out on three lactating female of bottlenose dolphins at the 1st, 4-5 and 20- 42 day post partum. High percentages of dry matter (51.88%), fat (26.08%) and protein (13.83%) were found in the colostrum on the first day, while there was a tendency for these components to decrease in the milk. The average diameter the milk fat globule (7.07 μm) of this species was assessed for the first time. The milk was rich in unsaturated fatty acids, which were more than twice compared to the saturated fatty acids (unsaturated / saturated ratio = 2.6). The main fatty acids of dolphin milk were C16: 0, C16:1 n-7, C18: 1n-9, C20: 1 n-11 C20: 5 and C22:6n-3. Several FA tended to increase from colostrum to milk: C12: 0 doubled, C20: 1 n-7 and C22:1 n-11 tripled, C20: 1 n-9 quintupled in later milk samples. Differently, other FA tended to decrease: C18: 3 n-3 was approximately 4 times lower and C24: 0 and C24: 1 halved in milk compared to colostrum. In conclusion, this paper contributes to the knowledge of the nutritional value of milk from bottlenose dolphins maintained under human care. Higher content of nutritional components such as fat and protein was found in the first day colostrum compared to milk. Moreover, the findings of this study highlight abundance of unsaturated fatty acids and large sized milk fat globules in dolphin milk.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Code availability
Software: JMP, RRID:SCR_014242;
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Authors wish to thank all Marine mammal staff of Acquario di Genova and Oltremare for animal care and training that allowed routine diagnostic sampling.
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Conceptualization: Mina MARTINI, Matteo, Federico SOMMER, Claudia GILI; Methodology: Matteo, Federico SOMMER, Iolanda ALTOMONTE, Federica SALARI; Formal analysis and investigation: Iolanda ALTOMONTE, Federica SALARI, Rosario LICITRA, Barbara BIANCANI; Writing - original draft preparation: Iolanda ALTOMONTE, Rosario LICITRA; Writing - review and editing: Federica SALARI, Federico SOMMER, Claudia GILI; Resources: Mina MARTINI; Supervision: Mina MARTINI.
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This research study was conducted from data obtained for clinical purposes (Ethical Clearance by the AnimalWelfare Body of Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, case09/2020/ec AWB-SZN—18 October 2020). All animals reported in this study are humanely managed according to the national and international regulations (Italy: DM 469/2001, D.lgs 73/2005 and by following specific protocols and guidelines disseminated through the marine mammal and zoo animal management associations (EAAM Standards and Guidelines, 2019). Milk sampling was carried out by expert veterinarians for animal health management and under a strict Veterinary Protocol specifically prepared for animal care purposes, thus no sample was collected or manoeuvre performed for this study only.
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Martini, M., Altomonte, I., Sommer, M.F. et al. Milk composition, fatty acids profile and fat globule size of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus, Montagu 1821) milk at early lactation. Vet Res Commun 46, 577–583 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-021-09845-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-021-09845-9