✵The article gives records of the herb Neem, its English name, Latin name, common names, property and flavor, its botanical source one plant species, ①.Azadirachta Indica A.Juss., with a detailed introduction to the botanical features of this plant species, the growth characteristics, and ecological environment of this plant species, the features of the herb Neem, its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guide.
Neem(lilac tree).
English Name: Neem.
Latin Name: Azadirachta Indica A.Juss
Common Names: Holy Tree, Nim, Melia azedarach, bead tree, margosa, neem or nim tree, holy tree, indiar, lilac tree, etc.
Property and flavor: The plant has no odor, the taste is bitter.
Brief introduction: Nearly every part of this tall, shade-giving evergreen tree has been used medicinally. It has compound leaves and bears small white flowers and olive-shaped fruit. Neem is widely cultivated in tropical regions of Asia and other parts of the world for its aromatic seed oil, gum, and bitter-tasting bark. It is also valued for its wood.
Botanical source: Common herbal classics defined the herb Neem as the bark, leaves, and other parts of the species (1). Azadirachta Indica A.Juss. It is a plant species of the Melia Linn genus, the Meliaceae (Meliaceae Juss) family. The bark, leaves, and seeds are used medicinally. This commonly used species is introduced:
(1).Azadirachta Indica A.Juss.
Botanical description: Azadirachta indica is a tropical evergreen that grows up to 25 meters high. It has rough dark brown bark with wide longitudinal fissures separated by flat ridges. The leaves are compound, and imparipinnate, each comprising 5~15 leaflets that are arranged in alternate pairs with terminal leaflets. The compound leaves are themselves alternating with one another. The thin, lanceolate leaflets measure about 6 cm long and 2 cm broad. It bears many-flowered panicles, mostly in the leaf axils.
The sepals are ovate and about 1 cm long, with sweet-scented white oblanceolate petals. It produces yellow drupes that are ellipsoid and glabrous, 12~20 cm long.
Ecological environment: Azadirachta Indica A.Juss is indigenous to the wood of Sri Lanka, it is found today in other tropical regions such as Australia, and western Africa.
Characters of herbs: Neem tree bark, leaves, and seeds are the trunk and branch bark, leaves, and seeds of Azadirachta indica or the closely related variety of Melia azedarach.
Pharmacological actions: ①.clean teeth; ②.anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties; ③.tannins and astringent actions; ④.relieve pain; ⑤.contraceptive; ⑥.control blood glucose levels; ⑦.against malaria and control mosquito; ⑧.pesticides and insect repellents.
Neem and its extracts clean teeth, inhibit plaque formation, and prevent gum inflammation, the herb has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties and supports its traditional use for skin diseases.
Neem contains tannins and its astringent action contributes to its long-standing use for skin wounds, and promotes healing by tightening tissue and controlling oozing and bleeding.
Neem relieves pain, its leaf extract relieves pain in rats, and neem oil is an effective contraceptive.
Neem oil helps control blood glucose levels in diabetes. Neem tree holds promise as a weapon against malaria in developing countries, 2 percent neem oil protects from mosquito bites for twelve hours, and neem extracts also demonstrated antimalarial properties in studies.
Need extracts and its component azadirachtin is proved to be extremely effective agricultural pesticides and insect repellents. As a pesticide, neem apparently does not harm warm-blooded animals, fish, or birds.
Medicinal efficacy: Neem tree has long been valued as providing a traditional tonic and astringent, its oil has been regarded as a virtual panacea through the centuries. Its parts were used to treat skin diseases, hemorrhoids, scabies, inflammations, worm infections, diabetes, peptic ulcers, fevers, heart disease, and other ailments. The leaves are used to treat gum disease and inhibit the formation of sticky plaque, twigs are used as toothpicks. Seed oil is used as a hair-dressing and a base for remedies. It is used for pesticide and insect-repellent properties, antimosquito, etc. In folk medicine, Azadirachta indica is used for inflammatory and febrile diseases, including malaria, as well as dyspepsia, Melia azedarach is used for worm infestation.
Administration of Neem (lilac tree):
Reference:
Administration Guide of Neem (lilac tree)
Herbal classic books:
Dosage: Two to four 500 mg powder capsules are taken with meals, or two to three 500 mg leaf capsules are taken two times a day.
Contraindications, Precautions and Adverse Reactions: Neem seeds are poisonous in large doses, but the traditional ways of using this plant appear to be safe for most individuals. Excessive doses caused breathing problems, stupor, convulsions, and ultimately death in laboratory rats. Neem oil is apparently safe for adults in recommended doses, but is potentially poisonous to infants and small children. Signs of poisoning resembled Reye's syndrome, a rare but potentially fatal disease. Observed characteristic reactions in infants are drowsiness, metabolic acidosis, seizures, loss of consciousness, coma, and even death due to encephalopathy.