Neem oil, also known as margosa oil, is a
vegetable oil pressed from the fruits and seeds of the neem (Azadirachta indica), a tree which is indigenous to the
Indian subcontinent and has been introduced to many other areas in the tropics. It is the most important of the commercially available products of neem, and its chemical properties have found widespread use as a pesticide in organic farming.
The ingestion of neem oil is potentially toxic and can cause
metabolic acidosis,
seizures,
kidney failure,
encephalopathy and severe brain
ischemia in infants and young children.[2][4][5] Neem oil should not be consumed alone without any other solutions, particularly by pregnant women, women trying to conceive or children.[2] It can also be associated with allergic
contact dermatitis.[6]
Resins
Recently, neem oil has been utilized to prepare various polymeric resins. These resins are used to formulate different types of
polyurethane coatings.[7][8]
Neem extracts act as an
antifeedant and block the action of the insect molting hormone
ecdysone.
Azadirachtin is the most active of these growth regulators (
limonoids), occurring at 0.2–0.4% in the seeds of the neem tree.[12]
References
^W. Kraus, "Biologically active ingredients-azadirachtin and other triterpenoids", in: H. Schutterer (Ed.), The Neem Tree Azadirachta indica A. Juss and Other Meliaceous Plants, Weinheim, New York, 1995, pp. 35–88.
^
abPuri, H. S. (1999). Neem: The Divine Tree. Azadirachta indica. Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publications.
ISBN978-90-5702-348-4.
^Meeran, M; Murali, A; Balakrishnan, R; Narasimhan, D (November 2013). ""Herbal remedy is natural and safe"--truth or myth?". The Journal of the Association of Physicians of India. 61 (11): 848–50.
PMID24974507.
^Ashok B. Chaudhari, Pyus D. Tatiya, Rahul K. Hedaoo, Ravindra D. Kulkarni, and Vikas V. Gite, Polyurethane Prepared from Neem Oil Polyesteramides for Self-Healing Anticorrosive Coatings, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2013, 52, 10189−10197
^Ashok Chaudhari, Vikas Gite, Sandip Rajput, Pramod Mahulikar, Ravindra Kulkarni,
Development of eco-friendly polyurethane coatings based on neemoil polyetherimide, Industrial Crops and Products 50 (2013) 550– 556
^Isman, Murray B (2006). "Botanical Insecticides, Deterrents, and Repellents in Modern Agriculture and an Increasingly Regulated World". Annual Review of Entomology. 51: 45–66.
doi:
10.1146/annurev.ento.51.110104.151146.
PMID16332203.
^Mishra, A. K; Singh, N; Sharma, V. P (1995). "Use of neem oil as a mosquito repellent in tribal villages of mandla district, madhya pradesh". Indian Journal of Malariology. 32 (3): 99–103.
PMID8936291.