zoopharmacognosy and its types along with examples

What is Zoopharmacognosy?
Types of Zoopharmacognosy
Examples

1. Zoopharmacognosy COURSE CODE: USZO604 UNIT: III Asst. Prof. Komal Gaikwad

2. What is Zoopharmacognosy? The word to describe animals’ self-medicating behaviour derives from ancient Greek:  ‘zoo’ (animal); ‘pharmaco’ (remedy); ‘gnosy’ (knowing). Animals have an innate ability to self-medicate using plants, clays and other natural remedies, and in the wild they will forage for them at the earliest stages of any health issue. 

3. Professor Michael Huffman In 1980, research was started by Professor Michael Huffman. He carefully observed chimpanzees behavioural pattern, for their wellnss they use some plant material.

4. Zoopharmacognosy can be classified in two types: Preventive/ prophylactic zoopharmacognosy: where animals do to self medication before infection can happen. Therapeutic zoopharmacognosy: animals do the self medication after infection.

5. Four types of zoopharmacognosy: Geophagy Anting Internal plant medicine (Ingestion) External plant medicine (Topical application)

6. Geophagy Anting Ingestion Topical application Mammals Birds Ants Mammals Earthworms Mammals Birds

7. Ants Scientists have hypothesized ants and other insects fight infections by ingesting therapeutic substances. Beauveria bassiana   is a fungus that grows in the soil and acts as a deadly parasite on a number of insect species. When spores from the fungus come in contact with an insect’s body they germinate and penetrate the cuticle (the insect equivalent of the skin), killing the bug within days. One of the cures for the fungus is to ingest hydrogen peroxide , which can be found naturally in aphids and the decaying bodies of dead ants.

8. Researchers fed one group of healthy ants a honey-based solution diet. A different group of ants feasted on the same solution, but spiked with hydrogen peroxide. The ants fed the spiked meals had a mortality rate of 20 percent, as compared to 5 percent for ants that at the pure solution. Then, researchers repeated the same experiment, but this time the ants were infected with the fungus. The roles reversed: the death rate for the group fed plain honey was 60 percent, but for those fed hydrogen peroxide that dropped to 45 percent.

9.  researchers allowed ants to choose between a meal of pure honey solution, or a meal spiked with hydrogen peroxide. Healthy ants stayed away from the spiked meal, while infected ants carefully supplemented their diet with doses of the spiked food. When the concentration of hydrogen peroxide was higher, sick ants consumed smaller doses than when the solution was weaker. Therefore, scientists concluded that ants were intentionally medicating, and they knew how much “medicine” they needed.

10. Mammals Common chimpanzee is found using leaves of species from genus Aspilla related to sunflower. They keep those leaves in the mouth for a while, coarse and covered in tiny bristles, these leaves cause the rapid expulsion of intestinal parasites. Leaves contain powerful antibiotic thiarubine-A which kills bacteria and fungi also acts on nematodes present in the intestinal tract. They use it in the morning as a stimulant.

11. Baboons found in Ethiopia eat fruits of balanites trees to get rid off from the parasitic infection caused by Schistosoma flukes. In diarrhoea they eat leaves of Sodom apple During menstrual cramps , baboons use leaves of tree cassia .

12. Female Muriqui monkeys from Brazil eat leaves of different plants before mating in order to prepare for the occasion. Leaves of Apuleia leiocarpa and platypodium elegans contain isoflavonoids , which is similar to estrogen . It decreases fertility by increasing estrogen level. Muriqui monkeys one of the rarest primate species, which are active in controlling their fertility. Another plant is fruit of Enterolobium contortisiliquim which contain stigmasterol which is a precursor of progesterone which increases the chance of fertility.

13. African Elephant pregnant female elephant in Kenya's Tsavo Park feeding pon a small tree belonging to a species related to borage, Boraginaceae family, seringa tree. It is believed that they consume it for the inducement of labor during pregnancy period.

14. Geophagy: It means consumption of soil, stones, clay and dirt by animals especially mammals, reptiles, birds and insects. Geophagy is far more common in animals that rely predominantly on plant food and is more common in the tropics. Historically, the explanation for geophagy was that animals ate earth for the purpose of gaining minerals, such as salt (sodium chloride), lime (calcium carbonate), copper, iron, or zinc.

15. Mammals red colobus monkey from Tanzania eats leaves of Indian almond and mango trees. It contains high amounts of protein as well as secondary compounds like phenols which interfere in monkeys digestion process. To counteract with this, they consume charcoal from charred stumps and logs etc. Charcoal has high capacity of adsorption for phenols. Reduced phenol level smoothen the digestion process in Red colobus monkey. Japanese macaques ingest 2.97 gm of soil per day to maintain the pH of the gut.

16. Invertebrates Geophagy is seen in earthworm and a termite. To fulfil their nutritional supplement.

17. Birds To aid process of digestion Birds have special organ in their digestive tract called gizzard which helps in the assimilation of foodstuffs. Consumption of stone of grit enhances the digestion process. n the tropical forests of South America, too, clay consumption is particularly common in parrots, macaws, monkeys, tapirs, peccaries, deer, guans, curassows, and chachalacas. It is suspected that clay not only prevents plant toxins from getting into the blood, but it also lines the gut and protects it from the caustic chemical erosion of seed toxins

18. Anting in birds

19. Anting is the application of ants or “substitutes” of ants by birds to their plumage.  It has been suggested that anting acts as way of (1) ridding of ectoparasites, (2) feather grooming, (3) decreasing skin irritation during molt, (4) sensory self-stimulation, etc. However, convincing support for any of the hypotheses is still absent.

20. Active Anting & Passive Anting Active – rubbing of insects on body surfaces of animals which secrete chemicals. Passive anting- lying of animals in highly dense area of insects (Ants): cats, squirrels, monkeys, birds. Mammals also have been seen with this behaviour : rubbing ants, millipedes and lime fruits to fight with the parasitic infection.

21. References: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2015/08/21/ants-self-medicate/#.XdQqKlczbIU