The Secret Medicine Cabinet: How Chimpanzees Use Plants to Heal with Elodie Freymann

World Extreme Medicine Podcast

Join primatologist Elodie Freymann as she reveals fascinating discoveries about how wild chimpanzees self-medicate using forest plant Alstonia boonei. Through nine months of field research, Elodie observed chimps selecting specific barks, leaves, and other plant materials to treat wounds and infections - practices that often overlap with traditional human medicine. She discusses groundbreaking findings in zoopharmacognosy (animal self-medication), the importance of preserving these forest "medicine cabinets," and what chimp healing behaviours can teach us about new medicinal compounds. From pro-social care among chimps to the intersection of traditional healing knowledge, this episode explores the remarkable intelligence of our closest animal relatives and their sophisticated relationship with medicinal plants.

To find out more about Elodie's work click here.

You can also read her full research paper here.