Sick chimpanzees seek out medicinal plants to self-medicate, study reveals

[Judi Lynn]

UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Friday 21 June 2024 at 10:35pm

Scientists have found more than a dozen "healing plants" with the help of some wild chimpanzees, after they were observed seeking out infection-fighting plants to self-medicate.

The "thrilling discovery" was made by a group of researchers who followed 51 chimpanzees in the Budongo Central Forest Reserve in Uganda for several months.

They observed the chimpanzees feeding on bark, dead wood and leaves from plants that were not part of their normal diet after they had become ill or injured.

Dr Elodie Freymann, from the Univerty of Oxford’s School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, told ITV News that observing chimpanzees could help scientists find effective new medicines for humans.



Chimpanzees in an African forest
Credit: Dr Elodie Freymann/AP

More:
https://www.itv.com/news/2024-06-21/they-are-our-teachers-chimpanzees-guide-scientists-to-healing-plants