Abstract
The effects of coffee cherry (CC), the residue left after the removal of coffee beans from the fruit, on the lactation of SHN mice were examined. Free access to drinking water with 0.01 % and 0.025 % solutions of the water extract of CC between days 1 and 12 of lactation improved the pup growth rate used as an index of lactational performance. The treatments affected little any of mother weight, mammary gland contents of DNA, RNA and lactose, serum levels of prolactin, growth hormone and non-esterified free fatty acid and major endocrine organ weights. The period of time spent by the mother mice in the nest was significantly elongated in the experimental mice given CC compared to the control. The results strongly suggest that CC can stimulate the growth of pups through its improvement of the nesting behavior of mother mice.
