Neem trees are a real wealth and many benefits from a medical perspective
Scientific name: Azadiracta indica The neem tree is a huge and large evergreen tree, and its length may reach 11 meters or more.
The leaves of neem are divided into several terminal leaves, and the tree is usually given white to violet flowers and has the smell of honey, so that fruits are formed in a yellowish-green color before full maturity, then they become black after that.
The neem tree is one of the most promising trees, due to its successful cultivation in dry environments and lands that are poor in its content of nutrients, and due to its many benefits. A scientific study has nominated it to become the tree of the twenty-first century or nature’s pharmacy due to its many uses, which we will explain in this article.
Spread of the tree:
- Neem trees are widely spread in India, and their name is Margosa.
- Also, neem trees are widespread in most tropical and rainy countries, such as countries in East Asia, and similar atmospheres.
- The visitor to the holy places in Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat, to see the neem trees in their shade, which has been radiant with its permanent greenery, in addition to its role in purifying the air from insects and driving away many types of rodents, reptiles and vermin.
- Egyptian agronomists have a long history in bringing neem from Sudan and studying it, and then knowing a lot about its cultivation conditions and taking the good quality from it.
Parts used medically and industrially:
- All parts of the plant, including the roots
- Bark: Neem bark is astringent and has a distinct aromatic odor. It is useful in overcoming cases of physical exhaustion, and is resistant to coughing, and against fevers, and against loss of appetite, and anthelmintic, and a good treatment for wounds and burns, and against vomiting, and soothing in cases of excessive thirst-cooling the body-.
- Leaves: It is considered a treatment for muscular pains, as it removes toxins accumulated in the body, purifies the blood from impurities attached to it, and prevents damage that can occur as a result of the presence of these free radicals or impurities in the blood, by working to neutralize the bad effect of these cracks on the cells the body. The diluted leaf juice of the neem plant is a good remedy for various eye diseases, and against harmful insect stings.
- Fresh neem fruits: they taste bitter, so they cleanse the colon, against anal hemorrhoids, and against intestinal worms.
- Neem flowers: used to regulate body temperature, and are also considered anti-intestinal worms.
- Neem seeds: contain antihelminthic, anti-leprosy, and anti-toxin substances, and have a distinctive bitter taste.
- Neem oil: It comes from grinding the seeds and extracting this oil from them. It is considered a skin tonic, an anti-helminth, a killer and a repellent.
- Neem tincture: It is prepared according to homeopathic theories and taken under complete medical supervision.
- Uses of neem products for various diseases and symptoms.
Treatment for fevers and malaria:
- The medicinal dose in such cases is from 15 to 50 grams of leaves, soaked or boiled in water, and drunk three times a day until complete recovery, knowing that the taste of the leaves is bitter.
Treatment for hemorrhoids or anal varicose veins:
- By eating 3-5 grams of the inner bark of neem trees or of the root bark, with 6 grams of red sugar - zigzag - molasses - every morning, and to control bleeding hemorrhoids, a number of 3 to 4 fresh crushed neem fruits can be placed with water, by enema.
Treatment of skin diseases, especially leprosy:
- It has been proven that taking a daily dose of 50-60 mg of neem gum, while massaging the body at the same time with neem bark juice, for a period of 4-6 weeks, would go away with leprosy. For skin diseases in general, 12 grams of neem leaves can be taken with 0.3 grams of ground black pepper, mixed with water and drunk daily until recovery.
- Multiple Indian companies produce a lot of cosmetics, the main factor of which is the neem tree. If it is not found in your country, an ointment is prepared from neem leaves, by mixing 50 grams of the leaves with 50 grams of butter, and everything is mixed well until it becomes homogeneous in shape and texture.
- During my studies in India, I saw a brunette Indian girl, with wonderful skin. I asked her mother about her secret, and she said that she washed her weekly with boiled neem leaves and drank daily a small cup of boiled leaves.
- The decoction of the leaves is also useful in cases of baldness by preventing hair loss, strengthening the existing ones, and urging the hair follicles to grow again.
Raising the efficiency of the immune system:
- Neem oil makes powerful drugs that help the body fight disease before it activates the immune system. Unlike chemical antibiotics, neem does not kill bacteria and microorganisms that the body needs in order to maintain optimal health.
Treating ear problems:
- In the event that there is pain in the ear, we expose it to the steam of neem leaves. The method is to put a handful of fresh neem leaves in a liter of boiling water, provided that the aching ear lean towards the steam rising from the pot. Purulent abscesses in the auricle or in the outer ear are treated by mixing an equal amount of leaf juice with natural honey and applying it to the affected area several times a day until the ear heals. Indians put two drops of warm neem oil in the ear twice daily to treat occasional and temporary deafness.
Pathological oral problems and treatment of dental caries:
- Most of the population in India uses the branches of neem trees as toothpicks to clean their teeth, as it works as an antiseptic to kill bacteria and diseases of the gums and teeth, and now there is toothpaste extracted from the heart of the neem tree in the market. Strong and effective teeth.
Slow down the growth of HIV:
- According to a report by a scientist from the National Institute of Immunology in India, neem oil has slowed the growth of the HIV virus in test tubes.
As a treatment for type 2 diabetes:
- Consuming neem extract in the form of tea or capsules helps a lot with type 2 diabetes patients, by reducing insulin doses or even completely dispensing with it. This is why 5-7 grams of leaf powder are used daily for 3-6 months to give positive results, or boil a handful of neem extract. Neem leaves in a liter of water and leave it for 24 hours and filter it and drink a small cup of it twice a day.
- There is a treatment in India that is capsules under the name Karnem, which is a mixture of kerala and neem.
Women's cases:
- The decoction of neem leaves is used after childbirth in order to prevent any infections, and to clean and heal any wounds that occurred in the vagina during childbirth. Neem also works to tighten the vaginal passage and return it to its normal position, and also removes any blackness in sensitive areas. Boil a handful of fresh leaves and use it as a vaginal douche or as a douche twice a day for 40 days after childbirth.
- Neem extract is used in the treatment of some diseases of the heart and circulatory system, such as high blood pressure and use as in cases of type II diabetes.
- Neem prevents the presence of insects, flies and mosquitoes in homes. Spraying with a solution containing neem expels various insects, and kills mosquito larvae inside and outside the places where people live, as it eliminates disease vectors from insects.
It is used in agriculture:
- In soil fertilization, agricultural pest control, an insecticide is extracted from it, a good source of wood against decay and termites, and it is used as a windbreak by planting it around the fields.
- These were some of the different uses of neem. Of course, neem needs a book to explain its many benefits. Unfortunately, it is not exploited commercially in the Arab world, knowing that most of the Arab countries succeed in growing and producing neem trees.
- Neem trees can be successfully grown in home gardens and yards for shading purposes, as an aesthetic feature, on roadsides and in public parks.