Publication details
Orangutan herbal remedies: lessons for human health
| Authors | |
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| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | Both human and animal health are continually threatened by infectious diseases. The “One Health concept” has highlighted the strong interrelation between human and animal health in recent years. Understanding factors affecting individual health is crucial for determining the underlying health and resilience of the International Congress on Natural Products Research 2024 Phytochemistry Letters 69 (2025) 102917 46 environment. The health of both individuals and ecosystems depends on homeostasis, the balancing of dynamic processes through continuous interaction and feedback within the integrated system. Parasites play a significant role in individual, species, and ecosystem health. Given the phylogenetic similarities between humans and orangutans, studying orangutan feeding behavior is relevant, particularly regarding specific plant foods consumed to combat parasitic infections. Orangutans, the only ape species in Southeast Asia, face critical endangerment, listed as such by the IUCN. Self-medication in primates sheds new light into the complex interactions of the animal, plant and parasite. While primates consume a variety of nonnutritional plant compounds and nutrient-poor bark, little is understood about the potential medicinal benefits of such ingestion. Our recent research confirms self- medication in orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) for the first time, based on pharmacological analyses. Several plants in the orangutan diet hold potential medicinal value, some used in traditional human medicine. This presentation will explore plants within the orangutan diet that demonstrate effectiveness against parasites through in vitro testing, such as Piper betle, Archidendron fagifollium, Mimosa sp., Knema laurina. Our findings, along with descriptions of plant species exhibiting novel antiparasitic effects, may inform drug development efforts to combat infectious diseases in both human and animal populations. |
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