Antiseptics are the chemical sterilizing substances which are used to kill pathogenic microbes or for prevention of their growth. Neem is good example of it.They should be sufficiently non-toxic for superficial application on the living tissues. There are a lot of natural substances which have antiseptic properties volatile oils, resins etc. Antiseptics are applied to broken skin after burns and wounds or they are applied to intact skin before surgical operations or injections. Sometimes, they are also applied to mucous membranes like conjunctiva to prevent or treat superficial infections.
Neem grows in tropical, as well as, arid regions It may be considered as undemanding plant. It grows in nutrient deficient soils. It survives high temperatures, little rainfall and prolonged periods of drought. It grows well at pH 5 and in moist stony, clayey or shallow sail The roots can extract nutrients from sandy or highly leached soil. The plant bears fruits after 5 years and between May to August. The neem tree grows about 8 m in height yielding about 350 kg foliage in dried form and 35 -55 kg fruits annually.
SYNONYMS:- .Margosa, Nim
Biological Source:- It consist of leaves and other aerial parts of Azadirachta indica, belonging to family Meliaceae.
Chemical Constituents
The different parts of Neem tree contain different constituents. Among them, the active ingredients are azadirachtin, salannin and meliantriol. The neem leaves contain nimbosterol and quercetin. The seeds contain azadirachtin, salannin, meliantriol and meliacin. The trunk. bark contains nimbin, nimbinin, nimbidin, nimbosterol and a bitter principle called margosine. Neem oil is expressed from seeds and it contains chiefly glycerides of oleic (50 %) and stearic (20 %) acids.
Uses:
The neem leaves and the neem oil are used mainly as antiseptics and insecticides. Neem oil nimbin and nimbidin are active against vanous fungi. The anti-insect principles have been commercialized in the form of vapaside and margosides. The drug is also attributed antifertility and anti-viral properties, and is being screened for efficacy in treatment of AIDS.
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