Parasitic Stress and Self-Medication in Wild Animals

Lozano, George A.

doi:10.1016/s0065-3454(08)60367-8

Cited by 128 publications

(129 citation statements)

References 102 publications

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“…Given the negative impacts of PSC on herbivores as a consequence of their role as chemical defences, it has been reasoned that PSC can exert similar actions across several trophic levels, including herbivores and the bacteria, parasites and fungi that inhabit herbivores' bodies and that cause decreases in health (18) . For instance, plant-derived alkaloids, terpenes and phenolics have antiparasitic and antimicrobial properties (19)(20)(21)(22) and sesquiterpene lactones have antiamoebic, antibacterial and antifungal actions (23)(24)(25) .…”

Section: Proceedings Of the Nutrition Societymentioning

confidence: 99%

Phytochemicals in animal health: diet selection and trade-offs between costs and benefits

2016

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Many plant tissues contain plant secondary compounds (PSC), which have long been recognised as defensive chemicals that deter herbivory via their toxic effects. However, herbivores may also benefit from including PSC into their diets. Plant-derived phenolics, terpenes and alkaloids have antiparasitic properties and sesquiterpene lactones have antibacterial, antifungal and antiparasitic properties. These actions are in part a consequence of the negative actions that PSC exert across several trophic levels, including the bacteria, parasites and fungi that inhabit herbivores' bodies. Given the dual action, toxin and medicine, it is possible to hypothesise that self-selection of PSC by herbivores should occur when the benefits outweigh the costs of PSC ingestion. Recent research suggests that sheep and goats self-medicate against parasitic infections. They increase preference for condensed tannin-containing foods when experiencing a parasitic burden. This behaviour improves health; it is triggered by parasitism and weakens when parasitism subsides. However, the causes underlying these responses are not straightforward when viewed under a unidimensional cost-benefit analysis. This is because the intensity of antinutritional/toxic and medicinal effects of PSC is not static or just dependent upon the isolated post-ingestive effects of single PSC. Nutrient-PSC and PSC-PSC interactions, social models, as well as feeding patterns, all influence the perceived net benefit of incorporating medicines into a diet. A better understanding of the net benefit of self-medication in complex feeding environments will allow for the development of innovative managing strategies aimed at providing the food alternatives and conditions for improving the nutrition, health and welfare of grazing animals.

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Section: Proceedings Of the Nutrition Societymentioning

confidence: 99%

Phytochemicals in animal health: diet selection and trade-offs between costs and benefits

2016

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“…Just as foraging behaviour is influenced by nutrients and PSMs, some responses may also be geared towards reducing disease (Lozano, 1998).…”

Section: Self-medicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Implications of selfmedication transcend animal species and range from providing shortcuts for discovering new medicines (Clayton and Wolfe, 1993) to managing the well-being of wild and domestic animals (Lozano, 1998) and improving human health (Engel, 2002).…”

Section: Self-medicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While little is known about the abilities of animals to self-medicate, and many of the observations are anecdotal and equivocal (Clayton and Wolfe, 1993;Lozano, 1998;Houston et al, 2001), there is evidence animals self-medicate (Engel, 2002). Researchers who contend that animals self-medicate under natural conditions do so based on observations that sick animals seek substances -not part of their normal diet and preferably with no nutritional benefit -that contain active ingredients capable of improving health (Ketch et al, 2001;Engel, 2002;Huffman, 2003).…”

Section: Self-medicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Researchers who contend that animals self-medicate under natural conditions do so based on observations that sick animals seek substances -not part of their normal diet and preferably with no nutritional benefit -that contain active ingredients capable of improving health (Ketch et al, 2001;Engel, 2002;Huffman, 2003). Such correlative studies are consistent with the self-medication hypothesis, but they do not establish cause and effect (Lozano, 1998).…”

Section: Self-medicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Self-medication and homeostatic behaviour in herbivores: learning about the benefits of nature’s pharmacy

Villalba

Provenza

2007

Animal

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Traditional production systems have viewed animals as homogeneous 'machines' whose nutritional and medicinal needs must be provided in a prescribed manner. This view arose from the lack of belief in the wisdom of the body to meet its physiological needs. Is it possible for herbivores to select diets that meet their needs for nutrients and to write their own prescriptions? Our research suggests it is. Herbivores adapt to the variability of the external environment and to their changing internal needs not only by generating homeostatic physiological responses, but also by operating in the external environment. Under this view, food selection is interpreted as the quest for substances in the external environment that provide homeostatic utility to the internal environment. Most natural landscapes are diverse mixes of plant species that are literally nutrition centres and pharmacies with vast arrays of primary (nutrient) and secondary (pharmaceutical) compounds vital in the nutrition and health of plants and herbivores. Plant-derived alkaloids, terpenes, sesquiterpene lactones and phenolics can benefit herbivores by, for instance, combating internal parasites, controlling populations of fungi and bacteria, and enhancing nutrition. Regrettably, the simplification of agricultural systems to accommodate inexpensive, rapid livestock production, coupled with a view of secondary compounds as toxins, has resulted in selecting for a biochemical balance in forages favouring primary (mainly energy) and nearly eliminating secondary compounds. There is a global need to create a more sustainable agriculture, with less dependence on external finite resources, such as fossil fuels and their environmentally detrimental derivatives. Self-medication has the potential to facilitate the design of sustainable grazing systems to improve the quality of land as well as the health and welfare of animals. Understanding foraging as the dynamic quest to achieve homeostasis will lead to implementing management programs where herbivores have access not only to diverse and nutritious foods but also to arrays of medicinal plants.

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The Greening of Pharmaceutical Engineering

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Parasitic Stress and Self-Medication in Wild Animals

Cited by 128 publications

References 102 publications

Phytochemicals in animal health: diet selection and trade-offs between costs and benefits

Phytochemicals in animal health: diet selection and trade-offs between costs and benefits

Self-medication and homeostatic behaviour in herbivores: learning about the benefits of nature’s pharmacy

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