The term. ‘zoopharmacognosy’ describes the process by which wild animals select and use specific plants with medicinal properties for the self-medication. The term was coined by the ecologist D H Janzen from the University of Pennsylvania.
- A male Sumatran orangutan’ in Indonesia was recorded treating wound on its face by making a paste of the local plant Fibraurea tinctoria, and applied it to the wound.
- Fibrourea tinctoria contains the anti-inflammatory molecule berberine. Called ‘Akar Kunyi’ locally, the plant is used in the traditional medical system there.
- In the southern subtropical regions, its equivalent is called Oleander and is used as a curative for jaundice.
Examples of zoopharmacognosy
- Dogs medicate themselves by chewing grass and vomiting it to get rid of infections in the stomach.
- Pregnant lemurs nibble on tamarind leaves to aid milk production, and pregnant elephants in Kenya eat the leaves of some plants of the Boraginaceae family to induce delivery.
- The shrub aloe vera, which is found in India (where it is called ‘gwar patta’ in Hindi and ‘katrazhai’ in Tamil) and many parts of Asia and Africa, has antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties.
