Tropical evergreen tree, Azadirachta indica, A. Juss. (Melia azadirachta L.) Meliaceae. Habit. India, Southeast Asia, also in Indonesia, Australia, Western Africa. Key active constituent is the limonoid, azadirachtin, q.v. Medicinal portions are the bark, leaves, fruits, and seeds; traditionally used as anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, and anthelmintic. Series of articles on chemistry and activity of neem extracts: Natural Pesticides from the Neem Tree, Proc. 1st Int. Neem Conf., 1980, H. Schmutterer et al., Eds. (German Agency for Technical Cooperation, Eschborn, 1981) 291 pp. Antifeedant activity of extracts against pea aphid: J. D. Stark, J. F. Walter, J. Agric. Food Chem. 43, 507 (1995). Use in traditional medicinal remedies: R. N. Chopra et al., Indigenous Drugs of India (U. N. Dhur & Sons, Calcutta, 2nd ed., 1958) pp 360-363. Cytogenetic toxicity of leaf extract: P. K. Khan, K. S. Awasthy, Food Chem. Toxicol. 41, 1325 (2003). Review of biological activity of isolated compounds, medicinal use and safety: K. Biswas et al., Curr. Sci. 82, 1336-1345 (2002); of component and pesticide toxicity in humans and animals: S. J. Boeke et al., J. Ethnopharmacol. 94, 25-41 (2004); of pharmacology and use in pest management: G. Brahmachari, Chembiochem. 5, 408-421 (2004); of medicinal and pharmacological activities of leaf extacts: R. Subapriya, S. Nagini, Curr. Med. Chem. Anticancer Agents 5, 149-156 (2005).
Obtained by extraction from seeds. Constit. Limonoids including azadirachtin, nimbin, nimbiol, salannin; fatty acids including oleic, stearic, palmitic. Properties and constituents: J. Kumar, B. S. Parmar, J. Agric. Food Chem. 44, 2137 (1996). Determn by HPLC of azadirachtin variation among seeds: O. P. Sidhu et al., J. Agric. Food Chem. 51, 910 (2003); by LC-MS of oils: S. Barrek, P. Paisse, Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 378, 753 (2004). Toxicology of debitterized oil: N. Chinnasamy et al., Food Chem. Toxicol. 31, 297 (1993).