Neem (Azadirachta indica): A Panacea of all Diseases

Abstract

Neem (Azadirachta indica) belongs to the Meliaceae family. Neem is well-known around the world for its medicinal and nutritional properties. Various parts of the plant like fruits, leaves, flowers, twigs, gum, seed, oil, bark, and root are known to have medicinal properties and are scientifically established for the various properties. Since ancient times, plant’s parts have been utilized for their medicinal value. The plant contains a high amount of catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) enzyme, and many other phytoconstituents such as isoprenoid-containing protomeliacins, limonoids, azadirone and Csecomeliacins such as azadirachtin, nimbin, and salanin. The non-isoprenoids include sulphurous compounds, polyphenolics like flavonoids and their glycosides, dihydrochalcone, coumarin and tannins, proteins (amino acids) and carbohydrates (polysaccharides), as well as aliphatic compounds. Due to such type of versatile phytoconstituents, the plants show lots of pharmacological applications. In this review article, we summarized the information regarding the various pharmacological activities of neem plants. All information presented in this review article regarding the beneficial application of Neem (Azadirachta indica) has been acquired by imminent various electronic databases including Scopus, Google scholar, Science Direct, Web of Science, and PubMed. The Neem plant, including leaves, bark, latex, seed, and their active constituents, plays a significant part in the management of progressive illness. The neem plant contains active ingredients were accountable for the basketful therapeutic function such as anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antispasmodic, antifungal, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antimalarial, antifertility, and also helps in proper digestion, hair growth, skin related problems and relief in menstrual pain and many more. The main findings showed that neem has strong medicinal properties and is also useful in cosmetic applications. There is no evidence of adverse effects of neem in literature. Only the people who are allergic to it can have side effects otherwise it is stomach friendly in all conditions due to which it can be applicable for treatment of various health related disorders. Keywords: Neem (Azadirachta indica), Phytochemical constituents, Therapeutic application