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Posted: 17th January 2018

Orang-utans use plants to relieve body pains
Researchers observed orang-utans using the Dracaena cantleyi plant to self-medicate.
Study provides first evidence of self-medication in great apes

A plant that is used by indigenous people in Borneo is also used by orang-utans for the relief of body pains, according to new research.

Researchers from the Borneo Nature Foundation have been studying wild orang-utans in the Sabangau Forest, south Borneo, since 2003 and have gathered more than 20,000 hours of data.

On seven occasions the researchers observed seven orang-utans using the Dracaena cantleyi plant and were fortunate enough to capture this ‘very rare behaviour’ on camera.

The footage shows a female orang-utan named ‘Indy; chewing the leaves to produce a white soapy lather. She then rubs this lather onto her left upper arm for around seven minutes.

Together with an international team of scientists, the Borneo Nature Foundation set out to analyse the properties of the plant.

“For the first time ever, self-medication activities of orang-utans has been confirmed through this research,” said co-author Dr Ivona Foitová of Masaryk University in Brno Czech Republic and Gadjah Mada University of Yogyakarta Indonesia.

“Pharmacological laboratory analyses revealed and proved leaf extracts of Dracaena cantleyi, which wild orang-utans have been observed rubbing on their bodies, to have anti-inflammatory properties.”

Dr Helen Morrogh-Bernard of the University of Exeter and co-director of Borneo Nature Foundation said: “This is very exciting news as it confirms self-medication in orang-utans, the first report of self-medication in an Asian ape, and for the first time, to our knowledge, the external application of an anti-inflammatory agent in animals.”

The researchers added “This new finding highlights the importance of tropical forests for medicinal plants, but more research into the practical uses of plants is needed.

“It also opens up the question as to what other plants orang-utans may use for medicinal purposes, a topic we know very little about.”

The study, self-medication by orang-utans using bioactive properties of Dracaena cantleyi, is published in the journal Scientific Reports. 



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