Orangutans use "medicinal plants" to relax, study suggests

A study by scientists at the University of Exeter found that Bornean orangutans use medicinal plants to - among other things - relax. Anesthetic effects are experienced in a variety of situations.

The survey investigates zoopharmacognosy - the study of medicinal behaviors in non-human animals - in primates and how self-medication is recurrent in the species.

Researchers applied advanced statistical methods to a 20-year-old database to identify non-random combinations of food resources with known pharmacological properties.

The main focus of the research is the Self-Medical Resource Combination Hypothesis (SMRCH), which proposes that orangutans deliberately combine therapeutic resources to optimize recovery from illness or injury.

Results
The conclusions showed that the behavior of therapeutically treating illnesses or injuries in oneself or others is common.

The study identified the use of plants with pharmacological properties to promote physical relief and effects on the nervous system.

Plants are also used to treat wounds, relieve muscle and joint pain, as well as combat parasites and protect against insects.

Use to relax
A plant identified as Pandanus spp., which appears in orangutan food combinations, has properties documented as a depressant of the Central Nervous System (CNS).

Adult females have been observed applying chewed Dracaena cantleyi leaves to chemically relieve muscle or joint discomfort, possibly caused by the strain of carrying their young.

The study suggests that consumed plant combinations, such as those involving Fibraurea tinctoria, may provide simultaneous analgesic and neuroprotective effects.

Source: CNN