Zoopharmacognosy

Animals ingest or apply non-foods such as clay, charcoal and even toxic plants and invertebrates, apparently to prevent parasitic infestation or poisoning.

[6] In 1993, the term "zoopharmacognosy" was coined, derived from the Greek roots zoo ("animal"), pharma ("drug"), and gnosy ("knowing").

[7] The term gained popularity from academic works[4] and in a book by Cindy Engel entitled Wild Health: How Animals Keep Themselves Well and What We Can Learn from Them.

Another possible mode of action is that the ingested material may initiate a purging response of the gastrointestinal tract by rapidly inducing diarrhoea.

Because this compound is quickly broken down by the stomach, chimpanzees will pick up the Aspilia leaves and, rather than chewing them, they roll them around in their mouths, sometimes for as long as 25 seconds.

[13] As many as 15 to 35 Aspilia leaves may be used in each bout of this behaviour, particularly in the rainy season when there is an abundance of many parasitic larvae that can cause an increased risk of infection.

Since tamarins are routinely infected by trematodes, cestodes, nematodes, and acanthocephalans, there is speculation that the deliberate swallowing of these large seeds can help dislodge the parasites from the monkey's body.

[16] Similar to the wild chimpanzees, Alaskan brown bears will swallow whole Carex leaves in the springtime to ensure the complete expulsion of parasites during their hibernation.

[17] Specifically, as tapeworms thrive off previously digested nutrients in the gut, the rough Carex leaves will lacerate their scolices, facilitating the defecation process.

Many parrot species in the Americas, Africa, and Papua New Guinea consume kaolin or clay, which both releases minerals and absorbs toxic compounds from the gut.

The caterpillars ingest plant toxins called pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which improve survival by conferring resistance against the flies.

[23] Great apes often consume plants that have no nutritional values but which have beneficial effects on gut acidity or combat intestinal parasitic infection.

Parasite infection drops noticeably after chimpanzees chew leaves of pith (Vernonia amygdalina), which contain sesquiterpene lactones and steroid glucosides that are particularly effective against schistosoma, plasmodium and Leishmania.

[31] White-nosed coatis (Nasua narica) in Panama take the menthol-scented resin from freshly scraped bark of Trattinnickia aspera (Burseraceae) and vigorously rub it into their own fur or that of other coatis, possibly to kill ectoparasites such as fleas, ticks, and lice, as well as biting insects such as mosquitoes;[32] the resin contains triterpenes α- and β-amyrin, the eudesmane derivative β-selinene, and the sesquiterpene lactone 8β-hydroxyasterolide.

[35] A study on domestic sheep (Ovis aries) has provided clear experimental proof of self-medication via individual learning.

The treatment animals preferred to eat the specific compound known to rectify the state of malaise induced by the food previously ingested.

[36] Other ruminants learn to self-medicate against gastrointestinal parasites by increasing consumption of plant secondary compounds with antiparasitic actions.

Sherwin and Olsson[37] tested whether such enrichment influenced the consumption of Midazolam, a drug widely used to treat anxiety in humans.

Early studies indicated that autoimmune (MRL/lpr) mice readily consume solutions with cyclophosphamide, an immunosuppressive drug that prevents inflammatory damage to internal organs.

[38] During this time, it is observed that these porcupine populations actively sought out a rather large variety of medicinal plants, mostly with antiparasitic properties, to consume.

[39] It has been proposed that for primates, there are four hypotheses relating to geophagy in alleviating gastrointestinal disorders or upsets:[40] Furthermore, two hypotheses pertain to geophagy in supplementing minerals and elements: Tapirs, forest elephants, colobus monkeys, mountain gorillas and chimpanzees seek out and eat clay, which absorbs intestinal bacteria and their toxins and alleviates stomach upset and diarrhoea.

[42][43] North American brown bears (Ursos arctos) make a paste of Osha roots (Ligusticum porteri) and saliva and rub it through their fur to repel insects or soothe bites.

[52] Additionally, another species of titi monkeys, Plecturocebus cupreus, were seen rubbing their furs with the leaves of Psychotria, whose compounds have antiviral, antifungal, and analgesic properties.

According to primatologists who had been observing Rakus at a nature preserve, "Five days later the facial wound was closed, while within a few weeks it had healed, leaving only a small scar".

Adult monarch butterflies preferentially lay their eggs on toxic plants such as milkweed which reduce parasite growth and disease in their offspring caterpillars.

[62] When detecting endoparasitoid wasps, fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) lay their eggs in leaves with high ethanol content as a means of protection for their offspring.

To combat this, the fruit fly larvae will consume a large amount of ethanol from the food source to medicate themselves after wasp infection.

[62] In an interview with Neil Campbell, Eloy Rodriguez describes the importance of biodiversity to medicine: Some of the compounds we've identified by zoopharmacognosy kill parasitic worms, and some of these chemicals may be useful against tumors.