Chimpanzees seek out natural medicines when ill – new study

The ape apothecary is open for business. After it was discovered that orangutans deliberately apply painkilling plants to their wounds, now it has been found that chimpanzees will eat antibacterial and anti-inflammatory plants when they are ill.

Researchers from the University of Oxford monitored a group of 51 chimps in the jungles of Uganda for 116 days. They carefully noted their health status and what plants they were eating. After the observation period, they identified 13 plants that only seemed to be eaten when the chimps were under the weather. A laboratory analysis of these plants showed that 80% of the plants prevented bacterial growth. A third of the plants had anti-inflammatory properties. The plants had no significant nutritional value and often were located away from the group’s main haunts.