Characterization of urinary volatiles in Swiss male mice (Mus musculus): bioassay of identified compounds

The present study was carried out to investigate the chemical nature of the urine of male mice and to assess its bioactivity. Urine of mature male mice was extracted with dichloromethane (1:1 ratio v/v) and analysed by gas-chromatography linked mass-spectrometry (GC-MS). Ten different compounds such as alkanes, alcohols, etc. were detected in the urine. Among the ten, five compounds are specific to males, namely 3-cyclohexene-1-methanol (I), 3-amino-s-triazole (II), 4-ethyl phenol (III), 3-ethyl-2,7-dimethyl octane (IV) and 1-iodoundecane (V). The compound, 4-ethylphenol, has been previously reported in several strains of male mice. Furthermore, the compounds (II) and (IV) are similar to 2-sec-butylthiazole and dehydro-exo-brevicomin compounds which have already been reported in male mice. Bioassay revealed that compounds (II), (III) and (IV) were responsible for attracting females and in inducing aggression towards males, as compared to the other compounds, i.e. (I) and (V). The results indicate that these three volatiles (II, III and IV) of male mice appear to act as attractants of the opposite sex.