Table 1.
Comparison of sample preparation, chemical, and sensory methods used to characterize scent markings, and the relationship between chemical constituents of marking fluid and urine of great cats.
| Species | Reference | Type of Marking | Sample Preparation | Chemical Analyses | Sensory Analyses | Identified Compounds | Commonality in Composition of MF and Urine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthera tigris tigris | Poddar-Sarkar, M. and Brahmachary, R.L. [9] | Marking fluid | Solvent-based extraction | GC-FID, GC, TLC, GLC, PC | Not conducted | Free fatty acids | Not conducted |
| Poddar-Sarkar, M. [20] | Marking fluid | Solvent-based extraction | GC-MS, GC-FID, GC, TLC, GLC, PC | Not conducted | Total lipid of MF consists of sterol ester, wax ester, triglyceride, free fatty acids, free sterol, diglyceride, and monoglyceride | Not conducted | |
| Brahmachary, R.L. and Dutta, J. [28] | Urine | Solvent-based extraction | PC | Orqanoleptic testing with human nose detection | 2-Phenylethylamine defined as the characteristic odor compound and biochemical marker of urine | Not conducted | |
| Brahmachary, R.L. et al. [4] | Marking fluid | Solvent-based extraction | PC, GC | Orqanoleptic testing with human nose detection | 2-Acetyl-1-pyrroline identified as characteristic compound of marking fluid | Not conducted | |
| Burger, B.V. et al. [11] | Marking fluid and urine | SEP | GC-MS | Not conducted | 98 volatile compounds confirmed including ketones, fatty acids, lactones in MF | Major constituents of urine fraction and of the whole MF were ketones and nitrogen compounds; 2-Acetylpyrroline was not detected in urine or marking fluid; 48 common compounds between urine and MF; Variability in polarity and volatility of compounds identified in urine; MF contains seven times as many VOCs as urine | |
| Brahmachary [29] | Urine | Solvent-based extraction | TLC | Not conducted | Putrescine and cadaverine components of urine were identified, but later studies (Burger et al. [11] did not report them | Not conducted | |
| Panthera tigris sumatrae; Panthera tigris tigris | Banks, G.L. et al. [19] | MF and anal sac secretion | Solvent-based extraction | GC | Not conducted | Trimethylamine, ammonia, methylamine, dimethylamine, 2-phenylethylamine, propylamine, triethylamine, and butane-1,4-diamine were found in Sumatran and Bengal tiger MF | Not conducted |
| Panthera leo | Andersen, K.F. and Vulpius, T. [21] | Urine | Solvent-based extraction | GC-MS | Not conducted | 55 compounds found; several amines, aldehydes, ketones, alkenes, and dienes; acetone, 2-butanone, 1-pentene, 2-pentylfuran, heptanal, 1,2-cyclooctadiene and diethylbenzene potentially responsible for species identity | Not conducted |
| Albone, E.S. and Gronnerberg, T.O. [23] | Anal sac secretions | Solvent-based extraction | GLC-MS, TLC | Not conducted | 1-alkylglycerols and 2-hydroxy fatty acids, phenylacetic, 3-phenyl-propionic, and related hydroxylated acids were identified | Not conducted | |
| Soso, S.B. and Koziel, J.A., Manuscript in Review [26] | Marking fluid | SPME | mdGC-MS-O | mdGC-MS-O | 81 volatile organic compounds comprise marking fluid; 19 volatile organic compounds were detected using olfactometry; 2,5-dimethyl-pyrazine, 3-methylcyclopentanone and 4-methylphenol responsible for characteristic odor of marking fluid | MF was analyzed in totality with urinous component and compared with previous literature analyzing the same content; 26 additional compounds were identified along with characteristic odorants | |
| Panthera leo persica | Brahmachary, R.L. and Singh, M. [30] | Marking fluid | Solvent-based extraction | PC, TLC | Not conducted | Amines and free fatty acids are putative pheromones of MF; Minor differences between lipid composition of lion and tiger MF; Anal gland fluid is not found in MF | Not conducted |
| Acinonyx jubatus | Poddar-Sarkar, M., and Brahmachary, R.L. [8] | Marking fluid | Solvent-based extraction | GC-FID, TLC | Not conducted | C2-C8 free fatty acids | Not conducted |
| Panthera pardus fusca | Poddar-Sarkar, M. and Brahmachary, R.L. [24] | Marking Fluid | Solvent-based extraction | GC-FID | Not conducted | C2-C9 free fatty acids in the acidic fraction of steam distillate of marking fluid; Several amines were detected in the basic fraction of marking fluid; The amount of lipid extracted from MF is 1.15 mg/mL | Not conducted |
Note: SEP = sample enrichment probe; SPME = solid phase microextraction; TLC = thin layer chromatography; GLC = gas liquid chromatography; GC-FID = gas chromatography-flame ionization detector; PC = paper chromatography; GC-MS = gas chromatography-mass spectrometry; mdGC-MS-O = multidimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-olfactometry; and GC = gas chromatography.