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Updated: May 30, 2026

Fecal Glucocorticoid Analysis: Non-invasive Adrenal Monitoring in Equids
Published on: April 25, 2016
Measurement of testosterone in infant fecal samples
Amanda L Thompson1, Patricia L Whitten, Michelle Lampl
1Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA. althomps@email.unc.edu
Objectives:
This study reports the validation of a noninvasive method for repeated assessment of testosterone from infant fecal samples.
Methods:
Fecal samples were collected from cotton diaper liners, subjected to methanol extraction, and assayed using a modified commercial testosterone RIA kit.
Results:
Method validity was supported by a recovery near 100%, a sensitivity of 1.23 pg/ml, and inter- and intra-assay coefficients of variations less than 10 and 15%, respectively. Testosterone was detected in all samples from male and female infants aged 2 weeks to 15 months.
Conclusions:
Fecal assessment is supported as a novel, non-invasive tool for studying testosterone during early human development.
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