Chimps use medicinal plants to treat each other's wounds and practice 'self-care' as scientists hail fascinating discovery
14 May 2025, 11:00
Chimps use medicinal plants to treat each other's wounds and practice "self-care", a new study has revealed.
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Scientists have found that chimps in Budongo Forest, Uganda, can identify leaves with medicinal properties.
The chimps use the leaves to treat their own injuries and tend the wounds of others.
According to results published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, the plants “have already been shown to exhibit antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory and/or analgesic properties [that could] aid in wound healing or pain relief”.
The study added that the plants have also been used “specifically for healing wounds and/or ulcers in traditional medicinal practices”.
The chimps often chew the leaves before applying them.
The leaves used to treat wounds come from plants of the Acalypha family and a plant called Alchornea floribunda, known as niando, and from Pseudospondias microcarpa, referred to as the African grape tree.
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'Self-care'
Over half of the recorded instances of “self-care” among the chimpanzees involved using leaves, such as for wiping themselves following defecation or sexual activity.
Elodie Freymann of the University of Oxford, lead author of the study, said the research "helps illuminate the evolutionary roots of human medicine and healthcare systems".
The chimps were followed for four months in the study.
Scientists found 34 instances of chimps treating or caring for themselves and seven instances of caring for others.
Ms Freymann added: "These behaviours add to the evidence from other sites that chimpanzees appear to recognise need or suffering in others and take … action to alleviate it, even when there’s no direct genetic advantage".
