New research shows chimpanzees self-medicate This study is helping scientists identify plants that have potential as future medicines. In this study, researchers from Oxford University identified over 13 plants with powerful wound healing and infection prevention properties.
The researchers made this surprising discovery with the help of wild chimpanzees. By observing them, the team discovered that when chimpanzees are sick or injured, they tend to eat bark, dead wood, and leaves that aren’t part of their normal diet.
The researchers said that observing how chimpanzees naturally seek help when they are unwell could speed up the discovery of new drugs to treat chronic and infectious diseases.
“We can’t test every plant in these forests for its medicinal properties,” said lead researcher Dr Elodie Freyman from the University of Oxford, “so why not test the plants that chimpanzees seek out – the plants about which we have information,” she added.
Chimpanzees seem to have their own unique cure
“Our study sheds light on the medical knowledge that can be gained from observing other species in the wild and highlights the urgent need to protect these forest pharmacies for future generations,” he explained.
To this end, Dr. Freiman and her team followed and closely observed two groups of wild chimpanzees in Budongo Central Forest Reserve for months at a time over four years.
In a study published in the journal PLOS One, researchers played the role of “detectives,” observing 51 chimpanzees over several months in Uganda’s Budongo Central Forest Reserve.
The goal was to gather “behavioral clues” to determine whether the primates were deliberately self-medicating: She and her colleagues looked for signs of pain, like limping or abnormal postures, but also took feces and urine samples to check for disease or infection.
After analysing the video recording, the team found the injured male chimpanzee eating fern leaves. Cristela ParasiticaLaboratory tests have shown that this fern has anti-inflammatory properties.
“He wasn’t using his hands to walk. He was dragging his feet,” she recalled. While the rest of the troop sat and ate, the injured chimp limped off in search of ferns. “He was the only chimp who sought out these ferns and ate them,” she said.
The researchers They collected and analyzed a fern known as Cristela ParasiticaIt has been shown to have powerful anti-inflammatory properties.
The scientists also observed another chimpanzee infected with the parasite eating the bark of the cat tree (Scutiamyrtina), a behavior not previously seen in this group.
An interesting way to find new medicines
Laboratory tests have also revealed other plant extracts, such as dead wood from tropical forests. Alstonia booneibark and resin of the East African mahogany tree (Kaya Anthoteca) has powerful wound-healing and infection-preventing properties.
Majority According to the researchers, 88% of the plant samples analyzed in the lab displayed antibiotic properties, and 33% displayed anti-inflammatory effects.
“Studying self-medication in wild chimpanzees requires us to act like detectives, gathering evidence from multiple disciplines to piece together the story,” Dr Freiman added.
“After spending months in the field collecting behavioral cues linked to specific plant species, it was exciting to analyze the pharmacological results and find that many of these plants showed high levels of biological activity,” she said.
The study can be found in the journal PLOS One.
About the Editor
Christopher McFadden Christopher graduated from Cardiff University in 2004 with a Masters in Geology. He has since worked specifically in the built environment, occupational health and safety and environmental consultancy industries. He is a qualified and accredited Energy Consultant, Green Deal Assessor and Practitioner Member of IEMA. Chris’ main areas of interest range from science, engineering, military and ancient history to politics and philosophy.
