Nutrient Requirements and Dietary Husbandry Principles for Captive Nonhuman Primates - Nonhuman Primates in Biomedical Research - page 264

Chapter 10

Nutrient Requirements and Dietary
Husbandry Principles for Captive
Nonhuman Primates

Michael L. Power * , Barbara Toddes y and Liz Koutsos z
* Nutrition Laboratory, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC, y Nutrition Program, Philadelphia Zoo,
Philadelphia, PA, z Mazuri Exotic Animal Nutrition, PMI Nutrition International LLC, St Louis, MO

Chapter Outline
Introduction 269 B Vitamins 277

Purposes of Food 270 Vitamin C 277

Informational Resources 271 Fat Soluble Vitamins 277

General Nutrition Concepts and Terms 271 Vitamin A 277

Over Nutrition 272 Vitamin E 278

Complete Feeds 272 Vitamin K 278

Primate Nutrient Requirements 272 Vitamin D, Calcium, and Phosphorus 278

Energy 272 Minerals 279

Measuring Energy in Animals and Food 272 Iron 280

Energy Content of Food 272 Zinc 280

Maintenance Energy 274 Copper 280

Protein 274 Considerations for Feeding Protocols 280

Requirement 275 Group Feeding 280

Deficiency 275 Purposes of Manufactured Feeds 281

Protein Sources and Quality 275 Choosing Appropriate Nutrient Levels 281

Carbohydrate 276 Choosing Appropriate Ingredients 282

Carbohydrate Sources 276 Choosing Appropriate Physical Form 283

Fiber 276 Special Diet Processing Considerations 284

Importance of Fiber to Gastrointestinal Tract Health 276 References 284

Water Soluble Vitamins 277

INTRODUCTION
Proper nutrition is fundamental to good health and repro-
duction. There is an ethical responsibility to provide
captive animals with appropriate foods that will satisfy
their nutrient requirements. Nutrients also affect growth
and development, including having effects on epigenetic
processes. Thus, early nutrition can influence eventual
phenotype. In an extreme example, many nutrients are
methyl donors (e.g. folate, vitamin B 6 ). The levels of
methyl donors in the diet can affect the level of methylation
of susceptible genes, modifying their expression. For

example, both coat color and the propensity for obesity in
agouti mice is affected by the levels of methyl donors
(folate, vitamin B 6 , choline) in the maternal diet ( Waterland
and Jirtle, 2003 ). Thus, differences in nutrition can have
many and varied affects on animals, including significant
effects on phenotype across generations.
In the context of biomedical research, nutritional
considerations are very important for the outcomes and
interpretation of experimental data. Evolution has produced
regulatory mechanisms that allow animals to survive and
reproduce on a range of nutritional planes. That means that