Self-medication by orang-utans (Pongo pygmaeus) using bioactive properties of Dracaena cantleyi

H C Morrogh-Bernard,M Olšanský,L Rárová,R De Martin,P Wilkin,K Doležal,W Nurcahyo,Z Yeen,I Foitová

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-16621-w

Abstract

Animals self-medicate using a variety of plant and arthropod secondary metabolites by either ingesting them or anointing them to their fur or skin apparently to repel ectoparasites and treat skin diseases. In this respect, much attention has been focused on primates. Direct evidence for self-medication among the great apes has been limited to Africa. Here we document self-medication in the only Asian great ape, orang-utans (Pongo pygmaeus), and for the first time, to our knowledge, the external application of an anti-inflammatory agent in animals. The use of leaf extracts from Dracaena cantleyi by orang-utan has been observed on several occasions; rubbing a foamy mixture of saliva and leaf onto specific parts of the body. Interestingly, the local indigenous human population also use a poultice of these leaves for the relief of body pains. We present pharmacological analyses of the leaf extracts from this species, showing that they inhibit TNFα-induced inflammatory cytokine production (E-selectin, ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and IL-6). This validates the topical anti-inflammatory properties of this plant and provides a possible function for its use by orang-utans. This is the first evidence for the deliberate external application of substances with demonstrated bioactive potential for self-medication in great apes.

Highlights

There are many documented examples of how animals, ranging from butterflies, caterpillar larvae and birds self-medicate and why they do it[1,2,3]
Fur-rubbing with Dracaena cantleyi Baker was observed on only seven occasions by six different females and one flanged male
Aim of this paper is to determine the biological properties of Dracaena cantleyi to test our ideas on the possible function of fur-rubbing in the Bornean orangutan

Summary

Introduction

There are many documented examples of how animals, ranging from butterflies, caterpillar larvae and birds self-medicate and why they do it[1,2,3]. None of the leaf was swallowed and the remaining chewed pulp was always spat out This was the first account of secondary self-medication in apes of either Asia or Africa, as all previous reports on fur-rubbing have come from several Neotropical primates and one species of lemur[3,5,20]. In these species, plant materials were applied either directly to the skin or chewed and rubbed into the fur for purposes including ectoparasite removal, insect repellent, treating fungal or bacterial skin infections, treating wounds, or for soothing, stimulating, or conditioning the skin or fur[6,7,8,9,21,22,23]. Aim of this paper is to determine the biological properties of Dracaena cantleyi to test our ideas on the possible function of fur-rubbing in the Bornean orangutan

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Conclusion