Neem oil is a vegetable oil pressed from the fruits and seeds of the neem (Azadirachta indica),

an evergreen tree which isendemic 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 for
organic farming and medicines.

Contents
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 1Composition
 2Extraction
 3Use
o 3.1Cosmetic
o 3.2Traditional medicine
o 3.3Pesticide
 4Toxicity
 5References

Composition[edit]
Neem oil varies in color; it can be golden yellow, yellowish brown, reddish brown, dark brown,
greenish brown, or bright red. It has a rather strong odor that is said to combine the odours
of peanut and garlic. It is composed mainly of triglycerides and contains
many triterpenoid compounds, which are responsible for the bitter taste. It is hydrophobic in nature;
in order to emulsify it in water for application purposes, it is formulated with surfactants.

Azadirachtin is the most well known and studied triterpenoid in neem oil. Nimbin is another
triterpenoid which has been credited with some of neem oil's properties as
an antiseptic, antifungal, antipyretic and antihistamine.[1] Neem oil also contains several sterols,
including campesterol, beta-sitosterol, and stigmasterol.

Average composition of neem oil fatty acids

Common Name Acid Name Composition range

Omega-6 Linoleic acid 6-16%

Omega-9 Oleic acid 25-54%

Palmitic acid Hexadecanoic acid 16-33%

Stearic acid Octadecanoic acid 9-24%

Omega-3 Alpha-linolenic acid ?%

Palmitoleic acid 9-Hexadecenoic acid ?%

Extraction[edit]
The method of processing is likely to affect the composition of the oil, since the methods used, such
as pressing (expelling) or solvent extraction are unlikely to remove exactly the same mix of
components in the same proportions. The neem oil yield that can be obtained from neem seed
kernels also varies widely in literature from 25% to 45%.

The oil can be obtained through pressing (crushing) of the seed kernel both through cold pressing or
through a process incorporating temperature controls 40 to 50 °C. Neem seed oil can also be
obtained by solvent extraction of the neem seed, fruit, oil, cake or kernel. A large industry in India
extracts the oil remaining in the seed cake using hexane. This solvent-extracted oil is of a lower
quality as compared to the cold pressed oil and is mostly used for soap manufacturing. Neem cakeis
a by-product obtained in the solvent extraction process for neem oil.

Use[edit]
Cosmetic[edit]
Neem oil is not used for cooking purposes. In India, it is used for preparing cosmetics such as
soaps, hair products, body hygiene creams, hand creams.

Traditional medicine[edit]
This section needs more medical references for verification or relies
too heavily on primary sources. Please review the contents of the
section and add the appropriate references if you can. Unsourced or
poorly sourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2018)

Neem oil has an extensive history of traditional human use in India and surrounding regions for a
variety of therapeutic purposes.[2] Ayurvedic uses of neem include the treatment of acne,
fever, leprosy, malaria, ophthalmia and tuberculosis.[citation needed] Various folk remedies for neem include
use as
an anthelmintic, antifeedant,antiseptic, diuretic, emmenagogue, contraceptive, febrifuge, parasiticide
, pediculocide, and insecticide, and for the treatment
of tetanus, urticaria, eczema, scrofulaand erysipelas.[citation needed] Traditional routes of administration of
neem extracts included oral, vaginal, and topical use.

Pesticide[edit]
Formulations made of neem oil also find wide usage as a biopesticide for organic farming, as it
repels a wide variety of pests including the mealy bug, beet armyworm, aphids, the cabbage worm,
thrips, whiteflies, mites, fungus gnats, beetles, moth larvae, mushroom flies, leafminers, caterpillars,
locust, nematodes and the Japanese beetle.[3][4] Neem oil is not known to be harmful to mammals,
birds, earthworms or some beneficial insects such as
butterflies, honeybees and ladybirds(ladybugs in US English) if it is not concentrated directly into
their area of habitat or on their food source. It can be used as a
household pesticide for ant, bedbug,cockroach, housefly, sand
fly, snail, termite and mosquitoes both as repellent and larvicide.[2] Neem oil also controls black
spot, powdery mildew, anthracnose andrust fungi.

In the UK, pesticides that contain azadirachtin and/or neem oil are banned.[5]

Neem extracts act as a phagorepellent (antifeedant) and by blocking 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.[6]