2. CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION............................................3
a. What is Zoopharmacognosy?
b. Prophylactic vs. Therapeutic Self-Medication
II. Various Types of Zoopharmacognosy
a. Dirt Medicine (aka Geophagy)................7
b. Insect Medicine......................................13
c. Internal Use of Plant Medicine.................18
d. External Use of Plant Medicine................22
III. DISCUSSION............................................... 26
a. How is the information transmitted?
b. Difficulties with research
3. I.
INTRODUCTION
A. WHAT IS ZOOPHARMACOGNOSY?
Zoopharmacognosy proposes the use of
“plant secondary compounds and other non-
nutritional substances to combat or control
disease” by animals.
Huffman, M. A. 2003. Animal self-medication and ethno-medicine: Exploration and exploitation of the
medicinal properties of plants. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 62:371-381.
4. INTRODUCTION (cont'd)
A. WHAT IS ZOOPHARMACOGNOSY? (cont'd)
Co-evolution of host and parasite has
resulted in biological methods for the decrease of
parasitic infection in hosts and a decrease in the
elimination of parasitic infection due to
adaptations to physiological immune responses.
Huffman, M. A. 2003. Animal self-medication and ethno-medicine: Exploration and exploitation of the
medicinal properties of plants. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 62:371-381.
5. INTRODUCTION (cont'd)
B. PROPHYLACTIC vs. THERAPEUTIC
SELF-MEDICATION
Prophylactic (or preventative) self-medication is
used in the prevention of illness by healthy
individuals.
Therapeutic self-medication is a specific response
to a particular situation; that is, the deliberate
consumption of medicinal substances by ill
individuals.
Lozano, G. A. 1998. Parasitic stress and self-medication in wild animals. In . Møller, A. P.,
Milinski, M., and Slater, P. J. B. (Eds.). Advances in the Study of Behavior Volume 27,
Stress and Behavior. Chapter 6, pp. 291-317
6. II.
TYPES OF ZOOPHARMACOGNOSY
A. DIRT MEDICINE: GEOPHAGY
B. INSECT MEDICINE: ANTING
C. PLANT MEDICINE (INTERNAL):
INGESTIONAL PLANT MEDICINE
D. PLANT MEDICINE (EXTERNAL):
FUR RUBBING
7. II. A.
GEOPHAGY
i. What is geophagy?
ii. The proposed purposes of geophagy
iii. Examples of geophagy
a. Chacma baboons
b. Yellowstone grizzly bears
c. Japanese macaques
8. II. A. i. What is
geophagy?
DELISH.
Birds
Mammals
Humans
Homo sapiens
9. ALSO
II. A. ii. Proposed DELISH.
purposes
Necessary nutrients
Absorptions of toxins
Relieves indigestion
Q Should captive animals be given the
opportunity to consume “soil” when they have
diarrhea or mineral deficiencies?
10. II. A. iii. Chacma
baboons
Ingested white alkaline soils
Unsure of exact purpose
Papio ursinus
Pebsworth, P. A., Bardi, M., & Huffman, M. A. Geophagy in
chacma baboons: Patterns of soil consumption by age class,
sex, and reproductive state. American Journal of Primatology,
73:1-10, 2011.
11. II. A. iii. Yellowstone
Grizzly Bears
Ingested clay with high concentrations of
potassium, sulfur, and magnesium
Suggests use for anti-diarrheal
purposes
Mattson, D. J., Green, G. I., & Swalley, R.
(1999). Geophagy by Yellowstone
grizzly bears. Ursus, 11, 109-116.
Ursus arctos horribilis
12. II. A. iv. Japanese
macaques
Ingested 2.97 grams per individual per
day of soil
Concludes that clay
act as a buffer
Wakibara, J. V., Huffman, M. A., Wink, M.,
Reich, S., Aufreiter, S., Hancock, R. G. V.,
et al. (2001). The adaptive significance of
geophagy for Japanese macaques (Macaca
fuscata) at Arashiyama, Japan.
International Journal of Primatology,
Macaca fuscata
22(3),495-520.
13. II. B. I make a
good
ANTING face
scrub.
i. What is anting?
ii. Active anting
iii. Passive anting
iv. Debate on the function of anting
14. II. B. i. What is anting?
One of these means of animal self-medication is
through the use of insects, called “anting”.
It can be split into categories: Passive and Active
Jain, C. P., Dashora, A., Garg, R., Kataria, U., Vashistha, B. (2008). Animal self-medication
through natural resources. Natural Product Radiance, 7(1), 49-53
Online resources:
http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Anting.html
http://birds.ecoport.org/Behaviour/EBanting.htm
15. II. B. ii. Active anting
Active Anting: Behavior where birds rub insects (particularly ants)
which secrete liquids containing chemicals such as formic acid, in
their plumage.
The chemicals can serve as insecticides, miticides, fungicides and
bactericides or as a supplement to the birds own preen oil against
parasites.
Birds that partake in Active Anting include: Babblers and Weavers
Although the term suggests exclusivity to ants, birds apparently also
use millipedes or Puss Moth caterpillars for the same purpose.
Over 200 bird species are said to partake in this behavior.
16. II. B. iii. Passing anting
Passive Anting: Simply laying down in an ants nest.
Birds that partake in passive anting include: the European Jay,
Crows and Waxbills.
Although anting can be categorized into two subsets, these
categories are not fixed to specific birds. Certain birds exhibit a
flexiblibily between the two on different occasions depending on
some unknown factor; Eg. Blackbirds, Redwings, other thrushes
etc.
17. II. B. iv. The function of anting and
other topics
Besides birds, other animals partake in behavior similar to
passive anting; eg. Squirrels, Cats and Monkeys.
Debate on the function of anting.
http://www.youtube.com/v/314-HtWIOps
18. II. C.
INTERNAL USE OF PLANT
MEDICINE: LEAF
SWALLOWING
i. Chemotherapeutic benefits of plants ingested by
chimpanzees
ii. Physiomedical properties of leaf-swallowing
iii. Social learning in self-medicative behavior
Q Why swallow leaves whole?
19. II. C. i. Chemotherapeutic benefits
of plants ingested by chimpanzees
Kibale National Park study
Anti-parasitic properties of plants Nematoda
ingested by wild chimpanzees
Albizia grandibracteata bark and
nematodes
Krief, S., M. A. Huffman, T. Sévenet, C. -. Hladik, P. Grellier, P. M. Loiseau, and R. W.
Wrangham. 2006. Bioactive properties of plant species ingested by chimpanzees (Pan
troglodytes schweinfurthii) in the Kibale National Park, Uganda. American Journal of
Primatology 68:51-71.
20. II. C. ii. The physiomedical
properties of leaf-swallowing
Ingested for physical rather
than chemical properties
“Purging response”
Gashaka Gumti National
Park study
Pan troglodytes
Fowler, A., Y. Koutsioni, and V. Sommer. 2007. Leaf-swallowing in Nigerian
chimpanzees: Evidence for assumed self-medication. Primates 48:73-76.
21. II. C. iii. The role of social learning
in self-medicative behavior
Primate Research Institute (Kyoto University)
study
Learned phobic responses
http://www.youtube.com/v/5vZHSKPehdQ
Huffman, M. A., and S. Hirata. 2004. An experimental study of leaf swallowing in
captive chimpanzees: Insights into the origin of a self-medicative behavior and
the role of social learning. Primates 45:113-118.
22. II. D.
EXTERNAL USE OF PLANT
MEDICINE: FUR RUBBING
i. What is fur rubbing?
ii. Capuchin and black-handed spider monkeys
iii. Synchronization of fur rubbing
23. II. D. i. What is fur rubbing?
Fur rubbing is the practice of
rubbing certain plants and fruits
on fur.
Q What might be some
advantages of engaging in
this behavior?
Maria DeJoseph, R.S.L. Taylor, Mary Baker, Manuel Cebus capucinus
Aregullin, Fur-rubbing behavior of capuchin
monkeys, Journal of the American Academy of
Dermatology, Volume 46, Issue 6, June 2002,
Pages 924-925.
24. II. D. ii. Capuchin and black-
handed spider monkeys
Capuchin monkeys
Onions, seed pods from Sloanea
ternifolia, leaves from Piper
marginatum and Clematis dioica
L., rind and juice of citrus fruits
Black-handed spider monkeys
Leaves of Key lime , Zanthoxylum
procerum, Z. belizense
Campbell, C. J. (2000), Fur rubbing behavior in free-ranging black-handed spider monkeys
(Ateles geoffroyi) in Panama. American Journal of Primatology, 51: 205–208.
25. II. D. iii. Synchronization of fur
rubbing
http://www.youtube.com/v/I5TDlG441gA
Fur rubbing often occurs in synchrony, with multiple
monkeys fur rubbing at the
same time in close proximity
or in direct physical contact
with each other.
Q What might be some
advantages of engaging
in this behavior?
Meunier, H., Petit, O. and Deneubourg, J.-l. (2008), Social facilitation of fur
rubbing behavior in white-faced capuchins. American Journal of Primatology,
70: 161–168.
26. III.
DISCUSSION
How is the information transmitted?
Culturally transmitted What am I doing
here???
Individually learned
Difficulties with
self-medication
research
