Wild chimpanzees eat plants that have pain-relieving and antibacterial properties to heal themselves, scientists said. They described their findings taking place in the forests of Uganda, where they observed injured or seemingly sick animals to see if they were self-medicating with plants. When an injured animal sought out something specific from the forest to eat, the researchers collected samples of that plant and had them analysed. It turned out that most of the plants tested have antibacterial properties. The scientists, who published their findings in the journal PLOS One, believe the chimpanzees could even help in the search for new drugs.
“We can’t test everything that grows in these forests for its medicinal properties,” said lead researcher Dr Elodie Freymann of the University of Oxford in an interview. “So why not test the plants we have this information about – plants that the chimps seek out?” For months over the past four years, Dr Freymann has tracked and carefully observed two communities of wild chimpanzees in the Budongo Central Forest Reserve.
They were also looking for signs of pain – when an animal limps or unusually holds its body – she and her colleagues collected faeces and urine samples to detect disease and infection. They paid particular attention when an injured or sick chimpanzee foraged for something it doesn’t normally eat – like tree bark or fruit peel.
“We looked for these behavioural clues that these might be medicinal plants,” Dr Freymann explained.
She spoke about one particular chimpanzee – a male – who had a badly injured hand. “He didn’t use his hand to walk, he limped,” she recalls. While the rest of the animal’s group sat eating, the injured chimpanzee hobbled away and searched for ferns. “He was the only chimpanzee who sought out and ate these ferns.”
The researchers collected and analysed the fern – a plant called Christella parasitica, which was found to have strong anti-inflammatory properties. In total, the researchers collected 17 samples from 13 different plant species and sent them to Dr Fabien Schultz of Neubrandenburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany for analysis.
It was found that almost 90% of the extracts inhibited bacterial growth and a third had natural anti-inflammatory properties, meaning they could reduce pain and promote healing.
All of the injured and sick chimpanzees studied in this study made a full recovery, Dr Freymann is pleased to report. “The one who ate fern regained the use of his hand after just a few days,” she explained.
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