title: [Great apes: who are they? Are they able to self-medicate?].
abstract: Six great ape species (chimpanzees, bonobos, Western gorillas, Eastern gorillas, Sumatran orangutans and Bornean orangutans) live in tropical forests of Africa and South-East Asia. Their habitat, severely threatened by deforestation, contains a vast chemical and biological diversity. During the last decade, we have isolated and identified novel pharmacologically active compounds from plants used by wild chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Our continuous observations over the last 12 years confirm that chimpanzees, when sick, may ingest plant material that are not generally eaten, supporting the existence of self-medication among great apes. Knowledge of great-ape diseases, and the medicinal resources of tropical forests, may be improved by preserving and studying our closest relatives in their natural habitat.
authors: Département Hommes, Natures, Sociétés, Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, 43, rue Buffon, 75231 Paris cedex 5. krief@mnhn.fr
authors: Sabrina
authors: S
authors: Krief
authors: Jean-Michel
authors: JM
authors: Krief
authors: John
authors: J
authors: Kasenene
authors: Thierry
authors: T
authors: Sévenet
authors: Claude Marcel
authors: CM
authors: Hladik
authors: Georges
authors: G
authors: Snounou
authors: Jacques
authors: J
authors: Guillot
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018420:Ape Diseases / Q000628:therapy; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D015186:Hominidae; D008517:Phytotherapy