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20 years ago Jaap de Roode made discoveries that changed his scientific career. While studying the ecology and evolution of parasites and their hosts, he came across something truly surprising. The butterfly of the monarch, whom he was studying, appeared to be using the medicinal properties of the plant to treat itself and its offspring.
At the time, the notion that insects might be able to receive self-medicine appeared to be far away. Currently, De Roode is a world expert in the fast-growing field of animal medicines, and has his own lab at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He spoke New Scientist about his work, his new book, Naturopathic Doctor: How Ants, Apes and Other Animals Heal themselves, and his belief that animals have medical knowledge that can be used to improve our own health.
Self-medical behavior of chimpanzees and wool bear caterpillars (bottom) is also being studied
Michael a Huffman
Graham Lawton: How did this realm go?
Jaap de Roode: It started out as a random observation while working in Tanzania in the 1980s. Kyoto University’s Michael Huffman was working with national park ranger Mohandi Seyf Kalunde to investigate the role of older chimpanzees in society. While tracking down something called Chausiku, they realized she had retreated, and she was taking a nap during the day and had diarrhea. They saw her go to the plant called Vernonia also known as bitter leaves. She stripped off the bark and began sucking on the pith. This is not usually part of their diet. Seifu, a traditional healer, told Huffman that he was using it as…
Source: www.newscientist.com
