Chimpanzees consume plants with medicinal properties to treat their ailments, suggesting self-medication behaviors. This finding, supported by both behavioral and pharmacological evidence, could aid in the development of new drugs for antibiotic resistance and chronic inflammation. The image above depicts a Budongo chimpanzee feeding on the fruit of F. exasperate. Credit: Elodie Freymann, CC-BY 4.0
Chimpanzees afflicted with illness consume tree bark, dead wood, and ferns known for their antibiotic and anti-inflammatory properties.
According to a study published on June 20 in the open-access journal DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0305219
Funding for this project was granted by the the Clarendon Fund at the University of Oxford (to EF), the British Institute of Eastern Africa (to EF), Keble College at the University of Oxford (to EF), Boise Trust Fund (to EF), German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (13FH026IX5, PI: L-AG and Co-I: FS) (to LAG, FS) and Neubrandenburg University of Applied Sciences (grant # 13310510) (to LAG, FS).
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