A Review on Traditional Plant Azadirachta indica: Natural Source for Disease Curability and Health Promotion

Neem (Azadirachta indica) is a medicinal plant, mostly found in the Himalayan region. The neem leaf is commonly and historically used in medicine to treat a variety of illnesses such as eye disorders, nose bleeding, loss of appetite and liver problems etc. Because of its various pharmacological and therapeutic effects, it is included in the Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia. As a result, this review provides current information on ethno-medicinal uses, phytochemistry, pharmacological effects, adverse effects of Azadirachta indica with future advancement. Several references were checked for identification, in-depth literature including online databases, documents, and blogs. Around 29% of the compounds in Azadirachta indica have been isolated and characterised. The limonoids in the neem tree have a wide variety of antimicrobial and insecticidal properties. Complex azadirachtin, salanin are active principles extracted from neem seed. These metabolites' biochemical pathways in the neem tree are completely unknown. Citrus sinensis is related to the neem tree phylogenetically. 62 percent of neem genomic was anchored into citrus chromosomes according to comparative study. The azadirachtin, nimbin, salanin and nimbidin from neem tissues were quantified by using LC-MS. This paper shows the various use of neem in different disorder.

Synthesis of Thermally Stable h-BN-CNT Hetero-Structures via Microwave Heating of Ethylene under Nickel, Iron, and Silver Catalysts

Initially, three samples of carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were synthesized from neem tree material. Afterward, these samples were coated with hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) to form h-BN and CNT composite (h-BN-CNT). The essence of using h-BN (being a perfect insulator) with armchair SWCNT (being a conductor) is to create an interface between an insulator and conductor. The samples were treated under three different transition metal nanoparticles; silver, iron, and nickel. Thermogravimetric (TGA) analysis reveals that h-BN/CNT is thermally more stable with silver than iron and nickel nanoparticles. TGA profile showed resistance to mass loss at the beginning due to the higher thermal resistivity by the impurity compounds. The DFT calculation, generalized gradient approximation (GGA), and Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof (PBE) analysis found engineered bandgap energy of 3.4 eV for the synthesized h-BN-CNT heterostructure. Because of its unique structural and electronic properties such as tunable bandgaps, the h-BN-CNT heterostructure may open new ways for manipulating excitons in the CNTs, and thus can be explored to develop various new electronic devices.

A Mini-review on the Phytochemistry and Pharmacobiology of Azadirachta indica A. Juss. (Meliaceae): Towards future research directions

Medicinal plants are suppliers of molecules used in both modern and traditional therapy. One of these plants is Azadirachta Indica (also known as the neem tree).Originally from Asia (India), this plant is currently widespread and cultivated in several countries in the world, including in Africa, because of its extraordinary therapeutic properties. A survey carried out on the Internet revealed that A. indica contains various secondary metabolites such as: Azadirone, Nimocimol, Azadiradione, Epoxyazadiradione, nimbinin, salannin, nimbanal, salannol acetate, nimbandiol, tannins, saponins, cardiac glycosides, steroids, gedunin, nimbinene, nimbolide, mahmoodin, margolonone, isomargolonone, azadirachtin, epicatechin, catechin, phenols, alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, triterpenoids, anthraquinone, anthocyanins. The main structures of these different molecules were drawn using the ChemBioDraw Ultra 12.0 software package. As a result, it has been demonstrated that these compounds confer several pharmacological properties on the neem tree, including anticancer, antifungal, antidiabetic, antibacterial, antiviral, antiplasmodial, and anthelmintic activities. Because of its high anthocyanin content, A. indica could be an interesting candidate for the development of an anti-sickle cell drug.

Review of azadirachta indica

Neem () belonging to Maliaceae family is very important medicinal plant. Neem is used different medicinal system; Ayurveda, Unani, Homeopathic medicines against various diseases. Each part of neem tree which has some medical property which act on various diseases.

Azadirachta indica (neem tree).

A. indica, grown pantropically, has received worldwide attention in recent years. It is considered to be a 'wonder' tree with an unlimited number of uses. A report prepared by an ad hoc advisory panel has called it 'a tree for solving global problems' (Vietmeyer, 1992). The tree has great religious, economic, medicinal and ornamental value, and nearly every part of the tree (roots, trunk, bark, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds) can be used for some purpose (Tewari, 1992; Luna, 1996). Commonly known as 'neem', A. indica can be grown under a range of climatic and soil conditions. It produces timber, fuelwood, fodder, medicines, pesticides and oil. It is said that the value of its byproducts is greater than that of its wood and serves the role of 'village dispensary' (Vietmeyer, 1992; Gupta, 1993; Siddiqui, 1995).It is seldom leafless and the shade it provides in dry, hot climatic regions of India and Pakistan is highly valued. There are an estimated 18 million neem trees in India and Pakistan, most of them lined along roadsides or clustered around the backyards of houses and markets, providing relief from the sun (Vietmeyer, 1992).

Effectiveness of Azadirachta indica (neem tree) on prevention and treatment of clinical human malaria: A systematic review

Introduction: Neem tree parts such as leaves, stem barks, and roots are known to have some medicinal values in both humans and animals. However, the evidence is scattered and vary with populations and regions. This systematic review sought to explore the effectiveness of neem as a therapeutic and prophylactic agent against malaria. Methodology: The systematic review examined the effectiveness of neem using the pre-registered review protocol and followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist. The Population Intervention Comparator Outcome (PICO) question was: “What is the effectiveness of neem (Azadirachta indica) when used as a therapeutic and prophylactic agent for malaria infection?” It included all cross-sectional survey studies, qualitative studies, case-control studies, randomised controlled trials, quasi-experimental studies, and cohort studies with or without comparison groups. Studies that had both children and adult patients who were diagnosed with malaria were included in the survey. Malaria patients using traditional medications other than neem as well as those who did not use neem were excluded from this study. The search for articles, screening, and synthesis were conducted using the Rayyan software. Results: Out of the total 1089 articles retrieved, only 3 fitted the inclusion criteria, 1 article could not be retrieved. A narrative synthesis was therefore done on 2 final research articles that were retrievable. The pooled evidence shows that Azadirachta indica is effective against malaria. The medicinal effects are more on symptoms and curbing development to clinical disease than ant parasitic effects. Conclusion: Neem is potential traditional medicine for malaria symptoms’ treatment, but evidence on ant parasitic effects is still not conclusive. The study recommends further primary studies to enhance the power of results to further recommend this plant for the prevention of or treatment of malaria symptoms.

Effect of Neem tree canopy (Azadirachta indica) on some selected physical properties of soils in Kano University of Science and Technology teaching and research farm, Gaya

The large-scale plantation of Neem trees have been used in the Sudan and Sahelian region of Nigeria to combat desertification, deforestation, soil erosion, and reduce excessive global warming. The research was aimed to investigate the effect of Neem tree canopy (Azadirachtaindica) on soil Bulk density and soil porosity in Kano University of Science and Technology Teaching and Research farm, Gaya, Kano State. The farm was divided into four quadrants, and three Neem trees were selected from each quadrant. Soil samples were collected at distances of 2m, 4m, 6m (from tree girth), and outside the Neem tree shades and were analyzed in the laboratory. Core samples were also taken from each sampling point and were analyzed for bulk density determination. The results of Bulk density show a significant difference (P<0.05) across the four quadrants, with Quadrant 4 having the highest Bulk density mean value (1.61gcm-3). There is no significant difference (P>0.05) in Bulk density across distances from Neem tree girth. However, bulk density mean value was found to be increasing across distances of 2m, 4m and 6m from tree girth. The results of soil porosity show no significant difference (P>0.05) across the four quadrants and across distances from Neem tree girth. The porosity mean values outside shade is found to be the least (36.5%). The low Bulk density mean values and high porosity mean values of the area found under the Neem tree canopy is suitable for alley cropping as well as possess good aggregate stability, hence, reduces the susceptibility of the soils to erosion. Further research should be done to study the macro and micronutrients composition of soils under the Neem tree canopy, which will aid in fertility management of the soils.

Triterpene Profiling of Neem Exudate (Toddy) Using UHPLC-QTOF-MS and its Anti-inflammatory Activity

Neem tree (Azadirachta indica) is one of the richest sources of secondary metabolites. More than 250 natural products have been characterized from various parts of the neem tree. These include diterpenoids, triterpenoids, steroids, flavonoids, coumarins, hydrocarbons, and fatty acids. Many of these products possess therapeutic properties. Neem exudate or toddy is a milky white liquid with a strong smell secreted from the angle between the 2 main branches of old trees. Profiling of neem toddy for the presence of active metabolites was done by an in-house database using UHPLC-QTOF-MS. Fifty-seven metabolites were identified from the full scan of electrospray ionization positive and negative mode from the neem toddy extract by using UHPLC-QTOF-MS. Further confirmation of 31 of these metabolites was done by obtaining MS/MS spectrum from UHPLC-QTOF-MS. Principal component analysis study of metabolites from neem toddy with leaves, seed, seed coat, and bark revealed that they are closely related to those contained in neem seeds and seed coats. Azadirachtin, nimbidiol, 22,23-dihydroazadirachtin, nimbonone, nimbonolone, nimosone, and 6-deacetylnimbinene were found to be some of the most abundant metabolites in neem toddy. The neem toddy extract showed significant anti-inflammatory activity when tested in N9 murine microglial cells with 25 ng of recombinant mouse tumor necrosis factor alpha protein (active) using qRT-PCR. The active metabolites in neem toddy could be further explored for their therapeutic potentials.