Chapter 11 – Nutrition

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the nutritional status of nonhuman primates. It involves various clinical and psychological activities that transform food elements into body elements. Nutritional status has major influences on the growth, reproduction, and longevity of nonhuman primates, and also on their ability to resist pathogenic and other environmental stresses. The availability of nutritionally adequate diets is essential for the well-being of nonhuman primates and to ensure that the data obtained from the animals involved in biomedical research are not compromised by unintended nutritional deficiencies. The chapter compares the amount of knowledge regarding the dietary and quantitative nutrient requirements of nonhuman primate species to other species of laboratory animals, even though various species of nonhuman primates have been used in biomedical research for many decades. To improve the value of nonhuman primates as animal models and to contribute to their well-being, it is essential to conduct research designed to determine the quantitative nutrient requirements of specific nonhuman primate species.