最新一期《生理&行為》雜志刊登的研究論文"Unusual feeding behavior in wild great apes, a window to understand origins of self-medication in humans"表明藥學(xué)治療的起源將追溯至更早，且超越人類(lèi)群體,。研究負(fù)責(zé)人雪萊-馬西和她的研究同事指出,，我們猜測(cè)自我治療可能存在于人類(lèi)祖先，當(dāng)時(shí)存在較高的社會(huì)差異性,，并且缺乏特殊的素食腸胃系統(tǒng),。
據(jù)國(guó)外媒體報(bào)道，黑猩猩每天會(huì)消耗大量的食物,，科學(xué)家一項(xiàng)最新研究表明這些食物并非完全出于據(jù)國(guó)外媒體報(bào)道,，黑猩猩每天會(huì)消耗大量的食物，科學(xué)家一項(xiàng)最新研究表明這些食物并非完全出于營(yíng)養(yǎng)攝入,，黑猩猩還懂得食物治療,。
馬西是巴黎國(guó)家歷史博物館研究員，她和同事們對(duì)烏干達(dá)吉貝利國(guó)家公園40多只野生黑猩猩群體的消耗食物進(jìn)行了觀測(cè)記錄,，還對(duì)所進(jìn)食食物的實(shí)用性進(jìn)行了分析記載,，以及進(jìn)食時(shí)黑猩猩之間的社交干涉性。此外,，他們還對(duì)中非Dzanga-Ndoki國(guó)家公園十多只野生西部大猩猩進(jìn)行了相同的觀測(cè)記錄,。
黑猩猩不同尋常的食物消耗,，意味著食物并不是完全與營(yíng)養(yǎng)需求有關(guān)，相比之下,，黑猩猩的食物攝入量是大猩猩的兩倍,。大猩猩擁有更多特殊的腸胃系統(tǒng)，能夠更好地消化解毒體內(nèi)有害成份,，從而使它們比黑猩猩和人類(lèi)需要很少的自我治療藥物,。
黑猩猩和人類(lèi)都非常擅長(zhǎng)進(jìn)行彼此之間的社交和學(xué)習(xí)，其中包括如何進(jìn)食,。馬西說(shuō)：“年齡較大和成功個(gè)體被認(rèn)為是學(xué)習(xí)的最佳模型,。”他們通過(guò)分析發(fā)現(xiàn)黑猩猩所食的多數(shù)非營(yíng)養(yǎng)食物和輕微有毒食物都具有一定的藥用價(jià)值?；谶@項(xiàng)研究,，黑猩猩的的“藥箱”包括：箭毒樹(shù)葉(抗腫瘤)、破布木芯(抗瘧疾和抗病菌),、無(wú)花果(抗病毒),、無(wú)花果樹(shù)皮(抗腹瀉)、無(wú)花果樹(shù)皮(去蠕蟲(chóng)藥劑)等,。
它們看上去好像有意地尋找發(fā)現(xiàn)具有藥用價(jià)值的植物,，甚至在營(yíng)養(yǎng)美味食物觸手可及的情況下也會(huì)消耗一些藥用植物。雖然黑猩猩和人類(lèi)是世界上最擅長(zhǎng)自我治療的物種,，但另一項(xiàng)發(fā)表在《小型反芻動(dòng)物研究》期刊上的最新研究記錄了野生和家養(yǎng)食草動(dòng)物也懂得食用一些藥用植物,。
美國(guó)猶他州大學(xué)荒地資源系的胡安-比利亞爾瓦和研究同事以色列沃爾卡尼研究中心的西格-蘭勞解釋稱(chēng)，山羊有時(shí)會(huì)細(xì)嚼一些抗寄生蟲(chóng)植物,，從而將一些腸蟲(chóng)夾雜在糞便中排出體外。
愛(ài)荷華州大學(xué)研究員史黛西-林德謝爾德也在野生蜘蛛猿體內(nèi)發(fā)現(xiàn)食用藥用植物的殘?jiān)?，他說(shuō)：“我們觀察發(fā)現(xiàn)蜘蛛猿懂得用身體摩擦一些藥用植物,，并將它們細(xì)細(xì)咀嚼。一些靈長(zhǎng)目動(dòng)物會(huì)以藥用價(jià)值來(lái)選擇食物,，除了自我治療作用之外,，有強(qiáng)烈氣味的藥用植物還能提高它們的嗅覺(jué)能力。（生物谷Bioon.com）
doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.08.012
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Unusual feeding behavior in wild great apes, a window to understand origins of self-medication in humans
Shelly Masia, , , Erik Gustafssona, b, c, Michel Saint Jalmeb, Victor Narata, d, Angelique Todde, Marie-Claude Bomselc, Sabrina Kriefa
Certain toxic plants are beneficial for health if small amounts are ingested infrequently and in a specific context of illness. Among our closest living relatives, chimpanzees are found to consume plants with pharmacological properties. Providing insight on the origins of human self-medication, this study investigates the role social systems and physiology (namely gut specialization) play on learning mechanisms involved in the consumption of unusual and potentially bioactive foods by two great ape species. We collected data from a community of 41–44 wild chimpanzees in Uganda (11 months, 2008), and a group of 11–13 wild western gorillas in Central African Republic (10 months, 2008–2009). During feeding, we recorded food consumed, its availability, and social interactions (including observers watching conspecifics and the observers' subsequent activity). Unusual food consumption in chimpanzees was twice higher than in gorillas. Additionally chimpanzees relied more on social information with vertical knowledge transmission on unusual foods by continually acquiring information during their life through mostly observing the fittest (pre-senescent) adults. In contrast, in gorillas observational learning primarily occurred between related immatures, showing instead the importance of horizontal knowledge transmission. As chimpanzees' guts are physiologically less specialized than gorillas (more capable of detoxifying harmful compounds), unusual-food consumption may be more risky for chimpanzees and linked to reasons other than nutrition (like self-medication). Our results show that differences in sociality and physiology between the two species may influence mechanisms that discriminate between plants for nutrition and plants with potential therapeutic dietary components. We conclude that self-medication may have appeared in our ancestors in association with high social tolerance and lack of herbivorous gut specialization.
