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Gorillas self-medicate: Scientists say these animals may be vulnerable to new drugs

Where does this photo come from? Getty Images

What we call this photo Fewer than 150,000 western lowland gorillas live in the wild in Central and West Africa

  • Author, Helen Briggs
  • Role, Environment Correspondent, BBC News
  • Twitter, @hbriggs

Researchers in Gabon have studied the plants harvested from wild gorillas and used by local healers and found four species with medicinal properties.

Laboratory studies have shown that these plants have high levels of antioxidants and antimicrobials.

You get the promise of being able to fight superbugs.

Great apes are known to treat their illnesses by selecting plants that provide them with medicine.

An injured orangutan recently made headlines after treating his injury with a plant paste.

Western lowland gorilla feeds on stems

Where does this photo come from? Getty Images

What we call this photo Western lowland gorillas live in the forest and chop stems, bamboo shoots and fruits.

For a new study, botanists are recording which plants the western lowland gorillas grow in the Moukalaba-Doudou National Park in Gabon.

They find four trees that they consider useful based on the information of local healers. Di Bäume na di Fromager Baum (Ceiba pentandra), Giant Yellow Mulberry (Tree Myrianthus), African teak (Milicia excelsa) and fig trees (Ficus).

The tree bark, which is used in traditional medicine to treat conditions such as stomach problems and infertility, contains chemicals with medicinal properties, such as phenols and flavonoids.

Forests of Gabon

Where does this photo come from? Getty Images

What we call this photo Gabon is one of the most biodiverse places in the world, with numerous unexplored and potentially medicinal plants.

All four plants show antibacterial activity against at least one multi-resistant E. coli strain.

According to the study, the apple tree showed a “remarkable effect” on all strains tested.

Dr Joanna Setchell, an anthropologist at the University of Durham in the UK, says: “What we mean is that gorillas have evolved to eat plants that are beneficial to them and that we don't know what is going on in the Central African rainforests.”

Dr. Setchell worked with Gabonese scientists for the study.

The Fromager Tree (Ceiba pentandra)

Where does this photo come from? Getty Images

What we call this photo The fromager tree (Ceiba pentandra) is used by local medicine men in Gabon to treat human illnesses.

Gabon has rich forests to explore. The forests are home to forest elephants, chimpanzees and gorillas, as well as numerous plants that are being studied by science.

Poaching and disease are causing many western lowland gorillas to disappear from the wild.

They are classified as critically endangered in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

They publish this research for the journal they call PLOS ONE

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