A followup of sorts on self medication in
chimpanzees - something DD posted way
back in 2022

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982221017322
Application of insects to wounds of self and
others by chimpanzees in the wild


The new research:

https://www.science.org/content/article/chimps-use-more-plant-medicines-any-other-animal
Chimps use more plant medicines than
any other animal
Study suggests sick chimpanzees go out of
their way to find plants with antibacterial
and anti-inflammatory properties

For several decades, evidence has accumulated
that animals turn to medicinal plants to
relieve their ailments. Chimpanzees (and
some other species) swallow leaves to
mechanically clear the gut of parasites.
Chimps also rely on the ingested pith of an
African relative of the daisy, Vernonia
amygdalina, to rid themselves of intestinal
worms. Dolphins rub against antibacterial
corals and sponges to treat skin infections.
And recently, a male Sumatran orangutan was
observed chewing the leaves of Fibraurea
tinctoria, a South Asian plant with
antibacterial and anti-inflammatory
properties, and dabbing the juice onto a
wound.
...


https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0305219 Pharmacological and behavioral investigation
of putative self-medicative plants in Budongo
chimpanzee diets

Abstract
Wild chimpanzees consume a variety of plants
to meet their dietary needs and maintain
wellbeing. While some plants have obvious
value, others are nutritionally poor and/or
contain bioactive toxins which make ingestion
costly. In some cases, these nutrient-poor
resources are speculated to be medicinal,
thought to help individuals combat illness.
In this study, we observed two habituated
chimpanzee communities living in the Budongo
Forest, Uganda, and collected 17 botanical
samples associated with putative
self-medication behaviors (e.g., bark feeding,
dead wood eating, and pith-stripping) or
events (e.g., when consumer had elevated
parasite load, abnormal urinalysis, or injury).
In total, we selected plant parts from
13 species (nine trees and four herbaceous
plants). Three extracts of different
polarities were produced from each sample using
n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol/water
(9/1, v/v) and introduced to antibacterial and
anti-inflammatory in vitro models. Extracts
were evaluated for growth inhibition against
a panel of multidrug-resistant clinical
isolates of bacteria, including ESKAPE strains
and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibition
activity. Pharmacological results suggest that
Budongo chimpanzees consume several species
with potent medicinal properties. In the
antibacterial library screen, 45 out of 53
extracts (88%) exhibited ≥40% inhibition at a
concentration of 256 μg/mL. Of these active
extracts, 41 (91%) showed activity at
≤256μg/mL in subsequent dose-response
antibacterial experiments. The strongest
antibacterial activity was achieved by the
n-hexane extract of Alstonia boonei dead wood
against Staphylococcus aureus (IC50: 16 μg/mL;
MIC: 32 μg/mL) and Enterococcus faecium (IC50:
16 μg/mL; MIC: >256 μg/mL) and by the
methanol-water extract of Khaya anthotheca
bark and resin against E. faecium (IC50:
16 μg/mL; MIC: 32 μg/mL) and pathogenic
Escherichia coli (IC50: 16 μg/mL; MIC:
256 μg/mL). We observed ingestion of both
these species by highly parasitized
individuals. K. anthotheca bark and resin
were also targeted by individuals with
indicators of infection and injuries. All
plant species negatively affected growth
of E. coli. In the anti-inflammatory COX-2
inhibition library screen, 17 out of 51
tested extracts (33%) showed ≥50% COX-2
inhibition at a concentration of 5 μg/mL.
Several extracts also exhibited
anti-inflammatory effects in COX-2
dose-response experiments. The K.
anthotheca bark and resin methanol-water
extract showed the most potent effects
(IC50: 0.55 μg/mL), followed by the fern
Christella parasitica methanol-water extract
(IC50: 0.81 μg/mL). This fern species was
consumed by an injured individual, a feeding
behavior documented only once before in this
population. These results, integrated with
associated observations from eight months of
behavioral data, provide further evidence
for the presence of self-medicative resources
in wild chimpanzee diets. This study addresses
the challenge of distinguishing preventative
medicinal food consumption from therapeutic
self-medication by integrating pharmacological,
observational, and health monitoring data—an
essential interdisciplinary approach for
advancing the field of zoopharmacognosy.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)