Orangutans Can Treat Wounds with Anti-Inflammatory and Pain Reducing Plants

Sumatran orangutans can treat wounds by applying plant sap which has anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties.

ARMAS / PROYEK SUAQ

The issue of air pollution is not new. The situation where the community is threatened by air pollution has been ongoing for a long time. There is no shortage of research evidence indicating the dangers of the impacts of air pollution. However, it has not been able to drive significant efforts in controlling air pollution. The residents are increasingly suffering from living in the midst of air pollution. Rakus, a male adult orangutan, was observed treating his wound with medicinal plants. The photo was taken two days before the orangutan attached a mesh of plants to his wound.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Animals are known to have self-medicating behavior. Recent research has found that Sumatran orangutans can treat their wounds with healing plants, namely applying plant sap which has anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties which are also used by humans.

Although it has been proven that there is self-medication behavior in animals, previously it was not known that animals could treat their wounds with healing plants. The recent study reveals this self-treatment method.

Biologists from Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany and National University in Indonesia have observed healing practices on a male Sumatran orangutan with facial injuries.

This orangutan eats and repeatedly applies the sap of a climbing plant that has anti-inflammatory and pain relieving properties commonly used in traditional medicine. The injured orangutan also covers all of its wounds with chewed leaves.

Also read: Orangutans are not yet free from the threat of extinction

These findings were published in Scientific Reports, part of the journal Nature, on Thursday (2/5/2024). Isabelle B Laumer and Caroline Schuppli of the Development and Evolution of Cognition Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, are the lead authors.

The report was also written by Arif Rahman, Tri Rahmaeti, and Sri Suci Utami Atmoko from the Faculty of Biology and Agriculture at Universitas Nasional; Ulil Azhari from the SUAQ Project, Medan; and Hermansyah from the Sustainable Ecosystem Foundation (YEL).

SAIDI AGAM / PROYEK SUAQ

(Left) Image of Fibraurea tinctoria leaves. The length of the leaves ranges from 15-17 centimeters. (Right) Voraciously eating Fibraurea tinctoria leaves (photo taken the day after placing a plant net on the wound).

In their report, the researchers mentioned that although sick behavior and avoidance are often observed in non-human animals, self-medication in the form of consuming certain parts of plants is widely spread among animals but with low frequency.

Humans' closest relatives, great apes, are known to eat certain plants to treat parasitic infections and rub plant materials on their skin to treat muscle pain.

Recently, a group of chimpanzees in Gabon were observed applying insects onto wounds. However, the efficiency of this behavior is still unknown. The use of biologically active substances for wound care has yet to be documented.

In this latest research, the research team reports evidence of active wound treatment with healing plants in wild male Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii). This orangutan behavior was observed at the Suaq Balimbing research location, Gunung Leuser National Park, Aceh.

The area is a protected rainforest which is home to around 150 endangered Sumatran orangutans.

"During daily observations of orangutans, we saw a male named Rakus with a wound on his face, most likely after fighting with his neighboring male," said Laumer in a statement released by Max Planck Society.

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Three days after the injury, Rakus selectively tore the leaves of a liana plant with the common name yellow root (Fibraurea tinctoria), chewed them, then repeatedly applied the resulting juice to the wound for several minutes. Finally, he covered the entire wound with chewed leaves.

ISABELLE B. LAUMER DKK (SCIENTIFIC REPORTS)

Wound healing process. Greedy ate it and then applied the chewed Fibraurea tinctoria leaves to the wound on his face on June 25, 2022. On June 26 he was again seen eating Fibraurea tinctoria leaves (see photo). By June 30, the wound had closed and by August 25 it was barely visible.

Laumer stated that this liana species and other related species that can be found in Southeast Asian tropical forests are known for their analgesic and antipyretic effects. "These species are used in traditional medicine to treat various diseases, such as malaria," he said.

The analysis of chemical compounds in plants shows the presence of furanoditerpenoids and protoberberine alkaloids, which have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antioxidant, and other relevant biological activities for wound healing.

Observations in the following days showed no signs of infection of the wound and after five days the wound had closed.

Researchers also observed that Rakus tends to rest more than usual when injured. Sleep has a positive impact on wound healing because the release of growth hormones, protein synthesis, and cell division increase during sleep.

Not a coincidence

Like all self-medication behaviors in animals other than humans, the cases reported in this study raise questions about how intentional the behaviors are and how they manifest.

"The greedy behavior appears to be intentional as he selectively treats the facial wound on his right side, and not on other parts of his body, with plant sap," said Laumer.

The behavior was also repeated several times, not only with plant extracts, but also later with more solid plant materials until the wound was completely covered. The entire process takes quite a long time.

Also read: Killing of Orangutans in Kalimantan Continues, Population Declines

According to Caroline Schuppli, it is possible that wound treatment with Fibraurea tinctoria in orangutans in Suaq emerged through individual innovation. "Orangutans in that location rarely eat these plants," he said.

DOKUMENTASI FRANKFURT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) Sun Ghou Kong enjoys his new home in the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park in the Sungai Tulang area. His return to the wild is a moment to commemorate World Orangutan Day which coincides with Thursday, August 19 2021.

However, there are orangutans who accidentally touch their wounds while eating this plant and apply the sap of the plant to their wounds.

”Because Fibraurea tinctoria has a strong analgesic effect, orangutans may feel an immediate release of pain. "This causes them to repeat this behavior several times," he said.

Because Fibraurea tinctoria has a strong analgesic effect, orangutans may feel an immediate release of pain. This causes them to repeat the behavior several times.

Because this behavior has never been observed before, wound treatment with Fibraurea tinctoria has so far not been included in the behavioral repertoire of the Suaq orangutan population. Like all adult male orangutans in the region, Rakus was not born in Suaq, and his origins are unknown.

"The male orangutan disperses from their birthplace during or after puberty to establish a new roaming area in a different region or move between other roaming areas of other orangutans," said Schuppli.

It is possible that this behavior is shown by more individuals in birth populations outside the Suaq research area.

New insight

This potentially innovative behavior presents the first report on treating active wounds with biological active substances in large ape species. This provides new insights into the existence of self-treatment in our closest relatives and the origins of wound treatment evolution on a broader scale.

"The treatment of injuries in humans was probably first mentioned in a medical manuscript dating back to 2200 BC, which included cleaning, plastering, and dressing wounds with specific wound care materials," said Schuppli.

KOMPAS/ZULKARNAINI

Sumatran orangutan named Cut Keke when he was released into the Jantho nature reserve, Aceh Besar, Aceh, Thursday (13/2/2020).

Active wound treatment not only occurs in humans, but can also be found in large African and Asian apes. Therefore, there is a common mechanism underlying the recognition and application of substances with medical or functional properties to wounds, which is demonstrated by the behavior of our ancestors using similar salves.