Cheryl Lyn Dybas, Science Journalist

Seminar Abstract: Captive Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are susceptible to a heart condition known as fibrosing cardiomyopathy. In this disease, healthy heart muscle turns into fibrous bands unable to pump blood, similar to congestive heart failure in humans. More than 40 percent of the deaths of captive Western lowland gorillas—and 70 percent of the deaths of the males older than age 30—are the result of fibrosing cardiomyopathy.

Autopsies performed on gorillas who have died of fibrosing cardiomyopathy show evidence of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle that leads to heart failure.

Although the cause of the disease is unknown, the captive gorillas' diet may be a contributing factor.

Aframomum melegueta, an herbaceous perennial plant that gorillas preferentially consume in the wild, contains substances with powerful anti-inflammatory properties that may protect gorillas' health.

Aframomum melegueta makes up 80 to 90 percent of the diets of wild Western lowland gorillas. Western lowland gorillas in Africa don't have far to look for A. melegueta. It's among the most common plants in the swampy lowlands of places like coastal Cameroon. Palmlike, it forms dense tangles and grows up to 1.5 meters high. Its trumpet-shaped, purple flowers develop into pods filled with small, reddish-brown seeds. The common name for the plant, Grains of Paradise, comes from its seeds and dates back to the Middle Ages, when the plant was a highly valued spice.

Western lowland gorillas may eat A. melegueta and possibly other Aframomum species for their cardioprotective abilities. Aframomum contains gingerols, chemically similar to other anti-inflammatory compounds. A. melegueta has been shown to modulate biochemical pathways activated in inflammation. Extracts from the plant inhibit pro-inflammatory gene expression, including genes encoding cytokines and three inflammation-causing genes, COX-1, COX-2, and 5-LOX.

The story of captive Western lowland gorillas, heart disease, an African swamp plant and a biotech lab demonstrates ways in which scientists and journalists can blend their expertise to increase scientific research opportunities, and to bring research results to a general public interested in, and needing more exposure to, science news.

Research Interests: Cheryl Lyn Dybas is involved in a research project to look at bioactive compounds in African plants and whether these compounds may play a role in captive Western lowland gorillas' heart disease.

Photo credits: Aframomum melegueta, P. Latham; Western lowland gorilla, Ilya Raskin

Host: Dr. Charles Canham