PAINKILLER THRILLER
DNA scraped from Neanderthal teeth suggests our extinct relative self-medicated, with traces of plants containing salicylic acid – the active ingredient in aspirin – found in tooth plaque.
Mineralised plaque traps microorganisms as well as bits of food, preserving the DNA for thousands of years. The Nature study sampled plaque from four Neanderthals in Spain and Belgium.
Not surprisingly, the Neanderthals ate what they found near where they lived. The Belgians feasted on rhinoceros, sheep and mushrooms, while the Spaniards made do with moss, mushrooms and pine nuts.
One plaque specimen told a medical detective story. It came from a tooth with a dental abscess and carried the DNA of a disease- causing bacteria. But it also carried DNA traces of poplar, a plant containing salicylic acid and the fungi Penicillium – which produces penicillin.
The authors suggest Neanderthals were wise to the medicine chest growing around them.