Non-human animals have long been known to self-medicate with herbs, though documenting such behavior is challenging. A recent observation of an orangutan offers valuable insights into this phenomenon.
The study of self-medication in animals, known as zoopharmacognosy, highlights how animals use specific plants to treat ailments. Throughout history, humans and non-human animals have interacted with nature and learned from each other. In some cases, animals appear to use plants in ways strikingly similar to humans to treat the same symptoms (International Journal of Applied Research and Studies. April 2019; 5(5): 73-79). It's even possible that humans gained some herbal knowledge from observing animals.
While it's difficult to observe animals self-medicating in the wild, several species, including birds, bees, lizards, bears, elephants, and chimpanzees, are known to use plants for medicinal purposes. For instance, some lizards treat venomous snake bites with specific roots, and pregnant elephants consume certain leaves to induce labor (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2014 Dec 9; 111(49): 17339–17341).
However, most evidence of animal herbalism comes from great apes. Until recently, the only documented case of a non-human animal using herbal medicine to treat a wound involved a chimpanzee. Now, scientists have observed an orangutan in Sumatra, named Rakus, treating a wound with a herbal remedy.
Three days after suffering a severe facial injury, Rakus carefully selected leaves from the Akar Kuning vine (Fibraurea tinctoria), chewed them, and applied the juice to his wound over a period of seven minutes. He then covered the wound with chewed leaf pulp. Remarkably, the wound did not develop any infection, and five days later, it was almost fully healed, leaving only a faint scar.
Akar Kuning contains alkaloids and compounds with antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antioxidant, and painkilling properties. This marks the first systematically documented case of a wild animal using a plant species known for its biologically active substances to treat a wound, offering new insights into the origins of human wound care.
Source: Sci Rep 14, 8932 (2024).