Gorillas Seen Self-Medicating By Using Same Antibacterial Plants As Traditional Healers

Researchers observing western lowland gorillas made an interesting connection. They were taking notes of what the animals were consuming and they realized they were using the same medicinal plants as local traditional healers and herbalists. This example of zoopharmacognosy could be the beginning of seeking cures for human diseases through animal behaviors. 

Gorillas Use Traditional Medicinal Plants

Researchers have already documented apes self-medicating using plants. However, it’s unclear if these gorillas in the rainforest of Moukalaba-Doudou National Park in Gabon were consuming the plants for medicinal reasons or as regular food. However, the fact remains that they were consuming the same species often prescribed by traditional healers and herbalists in Gabon, Africa.

“Several studies have shown that plants from the diet of great apes, including western lowland gorillas, are also used as medicinal plants by healers in traditional African medicine,” the authors report.

The study’s lead researchers, bacteriologists Leresche Even Doneilly Oyaba Yinda and Richard Onanga from the Interdisciplinary Medical Research Center of Franceville in Gabon, are examining the potential medicinal benefits of local fauna, calling the country’s biodiversity a “vast reservoir of unexplored potential active biomolecules.”

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The Four Plants

In 2022, a study documented people in a village near Moukalaba-Doudou National Park and gorillas consuming plants used in traditional medicine. So Yinda and colleagues investigated this food by taking samples of the bark from four trees: the fromager tree (Ceiba pentandra), the giant yellow mulberry (Myrianthus arboreus), African teak (Milicia excelsa), and an unspecified ficus subspecies. They tested for compounds that contribute to antimicrobial and antioxidant properties.

The Study’s Results

As it turns out, all four bark samples demonstrated antibacterial activity against at least one strain of drug-resistant E. coli. In fact, extract from the fromager tree had “remarkable activity” fighting all 10 strains of drug-resistant E. coli. Drug-resistant diseases are also known as superbugs. What is especially notable is that past research showed that the local gorillas had E. coli superbug microbes but no symptoms, so the scientists theorize this bark may contribute to management of the bacteria. 

Meanwhile, the ficus subspecies and African teak displayed the strongest antioxidant activity compared to the other two. But the effectiveness depended on how the extract was prepared, namely if it was dissolved in water or ethanol. 

At the same time, all four samples had relatively high levels of phenols, alkaloids, flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, and other compounds with potentially medicinal effects. Because of this, it’s comprehensible that these barks are used to treat diarrheal diseases as well as diseases caused by reactive oxygen species. 

“Alternative medicines and therapies offer definite hope for the resolution of many present and future public health problems,” said Yinda. “Zoopharmacognosy is one of these new approaches, aimed at discovering new drugs.”

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Don’t Eat Bark… Yet

Despite this promising research, people should not try to self-medicate by eating these barks. As of now, there is no clinical evidence proving how effective they are at healing. There’s also no research into what side effects they may cause. 

Meanwhile, the gorillas may be enjoying medicinal benefits whether they are intending for them or not. As the authors say, “the immunity-enhancing consumption of certain plant items (such as bark) by gorillas could be responsible for their ability to host and control these infectious microorganisms without developing serious disease.”

Protecting African Rainforests

“These results show that the [bark crude extract] of these plants could be used as an effective treatment for diseases caused by free radicals and diseases caused by antimicrobial-resistant bacterial strains,” write the study authors.

Therefore, study shows the importance of protecting areas rich in biodiversity like Moukalaba-Doudou National Park because they may offer treatment to common human ailments, and more importantly, drug-resistant diseases.

Healing Gorillas and Humans

This research is a remarkable example of potential self-medicating that parallels traditional remedies for gorillas and people. “The use of great ape pharmacopoeia or zoopharmacognosy is a very promising strategy for management of human diseases because of the phylogenetic proximity of humans and great apes,” the researchers write. “Alternative medicines and therapies offer definite hope for the resolution of many present and future public health problems.”

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