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JOHN YANG: Scientists are 
uncovering the healing power 
of plants with help from an

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unlikely source, chimpanzees. 
For years, researchers at 
the University of Oxford

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have taken samples of 
plants favored by wild 
chimps to learn about their

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medicinal properties. Sangeeta 
Kandola of Independent 
Television News has the story.

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SANGEETA KANDOLA, Independent 
Television News (voice-over): 
It's all about the survival of

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the fittest in the jungle, and 
to stay fit, you have to stay 
well. According to new research,

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wild chimps are the 
champions are doing 
just that. Eating wood.

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Over the past four years, 
scientists have been observing 
to chimpanzee communities

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in the forests of Uganda, 
they found that chimps 
that were sick or injured

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was seeking out and eating 
plants that have pain relieving 
an antibacterial properties.

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ELODIE FREYMANN, Primate 
Researcher, University of 
Oxford: Chimps have their 
diet and they stick to

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it relatively and 
several of these plants 
are very, very rarely 
consumed. So the fact that

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these sick or injured 
chimpanzees were seeking 
out these rare plants 
at the specific time and

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other group members 
sitting nearby didn't seek 
them out. One can read 
intentionality into that.

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SANGEETA KANDOLA (voice-over): 
In total, researchers 
collected 17 samples from 13

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different plant species used 
by the chimps and sent them 
to be tested in Germany.

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FABIEN SCHULTZ, 
Zoopharmacologist: In 45 of 
these we detected at least some

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antibiotic effects and 
the strongest activity in 
the bacteria activity was

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actually from a tree 
called alstonia golden eye.

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SANGEETA KANDOLA 
(voice-over): Discovery 
more plants with healing

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properties could potentially 
have huge implications 
for the human species,

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as chimps could help guide 
us in finding medicines we 
don't even know exist yet.

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ELODIE FREYMANN: This is 
going to be incredibly 
important in the next few

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years as antibiotic resistance 
is on the rise and there's 
new global pandemics.

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SANGEETA KANDOLA (voice-over): 
Scientists say the findings 
are significant and proves

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there is an urgent need to 
preserve these forest pharmacies 
for future generations.

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JOHN YANG: That was 
Sangeeta Kandola of 
Independent Television News.