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Name: Neem Trees -
Azadirachta indica
Zones:
Tropical and Sub Tropical
Growth Habit:
Wide Spread Branches with Rounded or
Oval Crown
Common Height:
50-65ft If left untrimed
Light Conditions:
Soil Type:
Many types but thrives on well drained, deep,
Sandy soils
Salt Spray Tolerant:
Drought Tolerance:
Very
Use:
&
Comments:
Evergreen Tree.
Products made
from neem tree have been used in India for over two
millennia for their medicinal properties: Neem products have
been observed to be
anthelmintic, antifungal,
antidiabetic,
antibacterial,
antiviral,
contraceptive and
sedative. It is considered a major
component in
Ayurvedic and
Unani medicine and is particularly
prescribed for skin disease.
- All parts of the tree are said to have medicinal
properties (seeds, leaves, flowers and bark) and are
used for preparing many different medical preparations.
- Part of the Neem tree can be used as a
spermicide
Neem oil is used for preparing
cosmetics (soap, shampoo, balms and creams, for example
Margo soap), and is useful for
skin care
such as
acne treatment, and keeping
skin elasticity.
Neem derivatives neutralise nearly 500 pests
worldwide, including insects, mites, ticks, and
nematodes, by affecting their behaviour and physiology.
Neem does not normally kill pests right away, rather it
repels them and affects their growth. As neem products
are cheap and non-toxic to higher animals and most
beneficial insects, they are well-suited for pest
control in rural areas.
Neem derivatives neutralise nearly 500 pests
worldwide, including insects, mites, ticks, and
nematodes, by affecting their behaviour and
physiology. Neem does not normally kill pests right
away, rather it repels them and affects their
growth. As neem products are cheap and non-toxic to
higher animals and most beneficial insects, they are
well-suited for pest control in rural areas.
Neem
oil has been found to be an effective mosquito
repellent.
Besides its use in traditional Indian medicine, the
neem tree is of great importance for its
anti-desertification properties and possibly as a good
carbon dioxide sink.
Practitioners of traditional Indian medicine
recommend that patients suffering from chicken pox sleep
on neem leaves.
Neem gum is used as a bulking agent and for the
preparation of special purpose food (for diabetics).
Aqueous extracts of neem leaves have demonstrated
significant antidiabetic potential.
Traditionally, slender neem branches were chewed in
order to clean one's teeth. Neem twigs are still
collected and sold in markets for this use, and in India
one often sees youngsters in the streets chewing on neem
twigs.
A decoction prepared from neem roots is ingested to
relieve
fever in traditional Indian
medicine.
Neem leaf paste is applied to the skin to treat
acne, and in a similar vein is
used for
measles and
chicken pox sufferers.
Neem blossoms are used in
Andhra Pradesh,
Tamil Nadu and
Karnataka to prepare
Ugadi pachhadi. "Bevina
hoovina gojju" (a type of curry prepared with neem
blossoms) is common in Karnataka throughout the year.
Dried blossoms are used when fresh blossoms are not
available. In Tamilnadu, a
rasam (veppam poo rasam) made
with neem blossoms is a culinary speciality.
- A mixture of neem flowers and bella (jaggery or
unrefined brown sugar) is prepared and offered to
friends and relatives, symbolic of sweet and bitter
events in the upcoming new year.
Extract of neem leaves is thought to be helpful as
malaria prophylaxis despite the
fact that no comprehensive clinical studies are yet
available. In several cases, private initiatives in
Senegal were successful in
preventing malaria.However,
major NGOs such as USAID are not supposed to use neem tree
extracts unless the medical benefit has been proved with
clinical studies.


NEEM TREES
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