Abstract

Dr. Bindu Ahlawat* and Dr. Jagdish Mohan Onkar

ABSTRACT

For thousands of years, humans have sought to fortify their health and cure various ills with herbal remedies. The search for a true panacea or cure-all has been undertaken by virtually every civilization. While hundreds of substances have been tried and tested, few have withstood modern scientific scrutiny. Perhaps no other botanical better meets the true definition of a panacea than Neem, a tropical evergreen primarily native to India and a Ayurveda herbal product. The large number of conditions and treatments using Neem are the result of eons of work by Indian herbalists and healers. They have been supported by modern scientific studies which continue to provide evidence of the effectiveness of Neem in preventing and treating illness and disease. What is so different about the Neem Tree? The Neem tree or margosa is a botanical cousin of mahagony and belongs to the family Maliaceae. Its botanical name is Azadirachta Indica which literally means “the free tree of India.” Native to Indo-Burma region, Neem is distributed throughout South and Southeast Asia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. In addition Neem is found in several other countries spread over continents and has become now a global tree.