Table 1.
Overview of animal studies on sex-specificity in maternal milk.
| Species | Sample Size | Offspring Age at Collection | Sex-Specific Difference | Study | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primates | Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta) | 106 | 3–4 months | ↑ energy and ↑ fat for males | Hinde, 2007 [43] |
| 114 (62 F, 52 M) | ↓ volume ↑ energy density for males | Hinde, 2009 [42] | |||
| 104 (61 F, 43 M) | ↑ calcium for females | Hinde et al., 2013 [41] | |||
| Ruminants | Holstein breed of cow (Bos Taurus) | 113,750 (data from lactation records) | not reported | ↑ volume for females | Hinde et al., 2014 [44] |
| Red deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) | 91 (44 M, 47 F) | 2, 6, 10 and 14 weeks | ↑ volume, ↑ protein, ↑ fat and ↑ lactose for males | Landete-Catillejos et al., 2005 [47] | |
| Marsupials | Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) | 91 | 6–10 months | ↑ protein for males | Quesnel et al., 2017 [45] |
| Wallaby (Macropus eugenii) | 2 milking sessions: 15 in July (6 M, 9 F), 11 in October (4 M, 7 F) | 4–8 months | ↑ protein for males | Robert and Braun, 2012 [46] | |
F, female offspring; M, male offspring; ↑, higher compared to the opposite sex; ↓, lower compared to the opposite sex.