Disease‘ the word itself indicate ‘not at ease’. When humans suffer from an ailment, they consult physician, get medicine doses and after some day, everything goes fine. Humans have the option for regular check up but have you ever wondered – what does an animal do when they are suffering from disease ? Do they visit to physician or intake any tablets?
The answer is NO.
Animals do suffer from various ailments and they have the proper cure of it without consulting any doctors. Such a fascinating field of study where animals use natural substances to self medicate against various ailment is known as zoopharmacognosy. The world is full of such amazed things in nature that always surprise us. We just need to have a look on it.
Origin of ZOOPHARMACOGNOSY:
The word zoopharmacognosy itself says a lot. Derived from Greek where ‘zoo’ means ‘animals’, ‘pharmacon’ refers to drugs or medicine and ‘gnosis’ signifies ‘knowledge’. It refers to the use of their innate knowledge to recognise and utilise medicinal plants, fungi and other substances to treat or prevent diseases. This innate behaviour is present not only in primate but also in birds and reptiles. All of them exhibit self medication. Recent studies have shown that in Indonesia a male primate called as Sumatran orangutan treats a wound around its face by making a paste of the local plant that is Fibrasurea tinctorial and applied the paste to the wound. There are many such example existing in nature.
Source:Indian White Paper
Nature fascinating varieties:
Dogs medicate themselves by chewing grass at first and then vomit it to get rid of infection in their stomach. Pregnant lemurs nibble on tamarind leaves which aid in milk production. Pregnant elephants eat the leaves of some plants of the Boraginaceae family to induce delivery. Parrots ,intake clay to neutralize toxin present in their diet. Ants ,intake resin with anti microbial properties into their nests to protect against infections. All these habits are seen in ancestry and are present till date. This all techniques has helped animals to self medicate by themselves without any complication. The field of zoopharmacognosy helps us to understand animal behaviour and their lifestyle.
Source:CNRS NEWS
Significance of zoopharmacognosy:
The field zoopharmacognosy not only helped the animals to self medicate but also helped the researchers to identify all medicinal plants and their active ingredients which further lead to development of new pharmaceuticals. Many traditional medicines have derived from plants that animals have been using from centuries. This is also emphasizing on the importance of preserving natural habitats. Humans, because of their greed continue to disrupt the ecosystem and destroy the biodiversity. By learning about zoopharmacognosy the loss of biodiversity should be controlled.
Source: Owlcation
Global world :
Not only in India, but also in other country zoopharmacognosy is at its peak.Countries like China, Arabia, in Africa it has been started approx 5000 years ago. The use of anti microbial , anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties make zoopharmacognosy a diverse field to be researched upon.
