Neem Oil

Extracted and pressed from the kernels inside the seeds, the oil is recognized and valued as a safe and effective bio-pesticide for organic farming. The oil is also widely studied for its medicinal properties, while being used in a variety of cosmetic products such as creams, soaps and shampoos.

Neem oil varies in color, depending on the health of the seeds and how the oil is extracted. Neem oil can be golden yellow, yellowish brown, reddish brown, dark brown, greenish brown, or bright red. Neem oil is composed mainly of triglycerides and contains many triterpenoid compounds, which are responsible for the bitter taste. The oil is hydrophobic in nature; in order to emulsify it in water for application purposes, the product must be formulated with appropriate surfactants [1].

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 [2].

Neem Oil Extraction

The extraction process will depend on the desired use of the neem oil, however there are four main types of extraction [3]:

Cold Pressing – The fruits are collected and the kernels separated. The leftover seeds are then woven, dried and fed into stainless steel presses to extract the oil. At no point in the extraction process can the temperature rise above 120F for the oil to be considered cold pressed. By using this method the oil retain all of their flavour, aroma and nutritional value.

Steam Pressure Extraction – Neem seeds, after the drying process, are fed into a steam boiler. The seeds are then swollen and the increasing pressure in the broiler drives the oil out from the seed without any pressing.

Solvent Extraction – Solvents such as hexane, acetone and methanol are mixed in with the seeds after they are woven and dried. The resulting oil is stored in a silo where pure neem oil is received from the crude one.

Aqueous Extraction – The simplest technique and most used is the extraction in water. Find here MaidThis of Los Angeles. It consists of crushing or grinding the seed or neem leaves, put in water, strain into thin fabric and collect the extract. This extract can be used in spray for the control of pests without modification.

A by-product obtained by the cold-pressing of neem tree fruits and kernels, neem cake acts as an organic fertilizer with pesticidal properties [4].

Uses of Neem Oil

Neem oil is used for medicinal, agricultural and cosmetic purposes, and has been a feature of community life in South East Asia for centuries. Visit www.dustandmop.com/. The most frequent use of neem oil is in the treatment of skin diseases, inflammations and fevers [5]. The oil is also renown for its effectiveness as an insecticide and insect repellent [6].

Traditional Ayurvedic uses of neem include the treatment of acne, fever, leprosy, malaria, ophthalmia and tuberculosis. Various folk remedies for neem include use as an anthelmintic, antifeedant, diuretic, emmenagogue, contraceptive, febrifuge, parasiticide and insecticide. It has been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of tetanus, urticaria, eczema, scrofula and erysipelas [7].

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 [8]. Read helping hands commercial cleaning reviews online when you need commercial disinfection services in Illinois. 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 [9]. It can be used as a household pesticide for ant, bedbug, cockroach, housefly, sand fly, snail, termite and mosquitoes both as repellent and larvicide. Neem oil also controls black spot, powdery mildew, anthracnose and rust fungi [10].

[1] Biswas, Kausik, et al. Biological Activities and Medicinal Properties of Neem (2002)
[2] Isman, Murray B., et al. Insecticidal and Antifeedant Bioactivities of Neem Oils and their Relationship to Azadirachtin Content. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (1990)
[3] Liauw, Maria Yuliana, et al. Extraction of Neem Oil (Azadirachta Indica A. Juss) Using n-hexane and ethanol: Studies of oil Quality, Kinetic and Thermodynamic." ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences 3.3 (2008): 49-54.
[4] Rao, P. Udayasekhara. "Chemical Composition and Biological Evaluation of Debitterized and Defatted Neem (Azadirachta indica) Seed Kernel Cake. Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society 64.9 (1987)
[5] Roy, Amit, and Shailendra Saraf. Limonoids: Overview of Significant Bioactive Triterpenes Distributed in Plants Kingdom." Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin 29.2 (2006)
[6] Stark, John D., and James F. Walter. Neem Oil and Neem Oil Components Affect the Efficacy of Commercial Neem Insecticides. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 43.2 (1995).
[7] Brahmachari, Goutam. Neem: An Omnipotent Plant - A Retrospection."Chembiochem 5.4 (2004)
[8] Immaraju, John A. The Commercial Use of Azadirachtin and its Integration into Viable Pest Control Programmes." Pesticide Science 54.3 (1998).
[9] Raizada, R. B., et al. Azadirachtin, A Neem Biopesticide: Subchronic Toxicity Assessment. Food and chemical toxicology 39.5 (2001).
[10] Hirose, Edson, et al. Effect of Biofertilizers and Neem Oil on the Entomopathogenic Fungi Beauveria Bassiana (Bals.) Vuill. and Metarhizium Anisopliae (Metsch.) Sorok." Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology 44.4 (2001).