First preliminary evidence of a relationship between feeding selectivity and gastrointestinal parasitism in mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx)

Abstract

Studies have focused the past thirty years on animal self-medication curative or prophylactic self-medication. This study aims to evaluate whether Mandrillus sphinx use certain plants for therapeutic purposes such as species would consume certain plant species for therapeutic purposes as described in other primate species. We have behavioral studied approximately 130 individuals living in the Lékédi Park from Gabon using the focusing method and carried out coprological analyses from fecal material collected on identified animals. Plant parts consumed were subjected to nutritional and pharmacological analyses. The results showed that specifically that the consumption of these plant species such as nuts of Elaeis guineensis, fruits of Palisota ambigua and above all stems of Manniophyton fulvum by parasitized individuals was strongly correlated with parasite prevalence in some individuals. This study suggests that Mandrillus sphinx, as described in other primate species. Further phytochemical and pharmacological studies of these plant species are possible.