• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.308-315
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• 2005

Aflatoxin contamination is a major problem in several food crops. Aflatoxin, a mycotoxin, produced by Aspergillus flavus has gained immense concern in the scientific world because of its tremendous harmful effects. The study was focused to see the effect of oil and aqueous extract of neem (Azadirachta indica) seeds on the growth of Aspergillus and production of aflatoxin by the mold. Various amounts of neem oil $(5\;-\;50\;{\mu}l/ml)$ and aqueous extract of neem (5 - 50 mg/ml) were used both in the broth as well as the solid medium. Fungistatic (MIC) and minimal fungicidal concentrations (MFC) were found to be $10\;{\mu}l/ml$ and $50\;{\mu}l/ml$ respectively for neem seed oil. At the concentration of $5\;{\mu}l/ml$ neem oil and 5 mg/ml of aqueous extract, a significant decrease in the aflatoxin content was found in broth medium. Aflatoxin production was totally inhibited at $50\;{\mu}l/ml$ and 50 mg/ml for neem oil and aqueous extract of neem respectively, in both treatments. There was significant inhibition of mycelium dry weight by the neem seed oil. Mycelial growth was totally inhibited at $20\;{\mu}l/ml$ of neem seed oil concentration in broth, whereas it was not affected at all by aqueous extract. It can therefore be inferred that the oil and extract from the neem seed leads to inhibition of aflatoxin production while neem seed oil also significantly inhibits the mycelial growth. Neem seed oil thus can be used as potent, natural and easily available anti-aflatoxigenic agent.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.459-465
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• 2008

The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of in vivo administration of neem oil intra-peritoneally (i.p.) to mice bearing a progressively growing transplantable T cell lymphoma of spontaneous origin, designated as Daltons lymphoma (DL), on the tumor growth. Mice were administered various doses of neem oil mixed in groundnut oil, which was used as a diluting vehicle or for administration to control DL-bearing mice. Administration of neem oil resulted in an acceleration of tumor growth along with a reduction in the survival time of the tumor-bearing host. Neem oil administered DL-bearing mice showed an augmented apoptosis in splenocytes, bone marrow cells and thymocytes along with an inhibition in the anti-tumor functions of tumor-associated macrophages. Thus this study gives an altogether a novel information that neem oil instead of the popular belief of being anti-tumor and immunoaugmentary may in some tumor-bearing conditions, behave in an opposite way leading to an accelarated tumor progression along with a collapse of the host's anti-tumor machinery. These observations will thus have long lasting clinical significance, suggesting caution in use of neem oil for treatment of cancer.

• Weed & Turfgrass Science
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.62-69
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• 2013

The black cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon (Hufnagel), damages various cultivated crops and it can also be a serious pest of turfgrass, especially on golf courses. Essential oils have potential as alternative control agents for insect pests. Sixteen essential oils (anise, camphor, cinnamon, citronella, clove, fennel, geranium, lavender, lemongrass, linseed, neem, peppermint, pine, thyme, turpentine and tea saponin) and paraffin oil were assessed in the laboratory, the green house and field trials for their efficacy against black cutworms in turf. Treatment of potted cores of perennial ryegrass turf with anise, cinnamon, neem, paraffin or turpentine reduced black cutworm damage in a greenhouse trial, and in a similar trial, applying neem oil at 4000, 2000 and 1000 ppm resulted in 100, 100 and 64% mortality, respectively, of black cutworms. Weight of survivors at the 1000 ppm rate was 5- fold less than weight of comparably-aged controls. Neem oil (2000 ppm) reduced growth of black cutworms feeding on treated clippings. A high rate of neem oil followed by irrigation (0.1 L of 20000 ppm neem oil with 0.9 L watering/$m^2$) was more effective than a lower concentration (1 L of 2000 ppm neem oil/$m^2$) against $2^{nd}$ and $3^{rd}$ instars in potted turf cores and field plots, respectively. However, not even the aforementioned higher rate effectively controlled $4^{th}$ instars in the field.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.54-64
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• 2010

Effects of thirteen essential oils (anise oil, clove oil, marigold, mustard oil, neem oil, quassia, quilaja, rosemary oil, rotenone, tea tree extract, thyme oil, wintergreen oil, and yucca) and caffeine on typical industrial insect, silkworm (Bombyx mori) and two entomopathogenic nematodes, Steinernema carpocapsae GSN-1 strain (Sc) and Heterorhabditis sp. Gyeongsan strain (Hg) were investigated in the laboratory. When 1,000 ppm of each essential oils was treated, neem oil showed the highest insecticidal activity against silkworm. Mortality of silkworm fed on neem oil treated mulberry leaf was 55.3 and 100% 5 and 10 days after treatment, respectively. The silkworm fed on neem oil treated mulberry leaf did not make cocoon and pupa. Weight of cocoon and pupa was low in rotenone treatment showing 0.27 g and 1.01 g, respectively. Mustard oil had the highest nematicidal activity against entomopathogenic nematodes. 20 ppm of mustard oil resulted in 69.0% and 100% mortality of Sc and Hg 3 days after treatment, but 4% and 36% at 5 ppm in X-plate, respectively. Mortality of baited Galleria mellonella larva by Sc was not different from control at the concentration of 100 ppm of mustard oil while 30% lower in Hg in sand barrier. Mean numbers of established infective juveniles of Hg in Galleria larva were lower than Sc in sand barrier. Survival rate of Sc was similar to control at the concentration of <200 ppm of mustard oil in sand barrier.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.490-497
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• 2010

A chitinolytic bacterium having a strong antagonistic activity against various pathogens including Phytophtora capsici was isolated from rhizosphere soil, and identified as Lysobacter enzymogenes (named as LE429) based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. This strain produced a number of substances such as chitinase, ${\beta}-1$, 3-glucanase, lipase, protease, gelatinase and an antibiotic compound. This antibiotic compound was purified by diaion HP-20, sephadex LH-20 column chromatography and HPLC. The purified compound was identified as phenylacetic acid by gas chromatography-electron ionization (GC-EI) and gas chromatography-chemical ionization (GC-CI) mass spectrometry. In field experiment, pepper plants were treated by the strain LE429 culture (CB), neem oil solution (NO), combination (CB+NO) or control (CON). Plant height and number of branches, flowers and pods of pepper plant in CB treatment were generally highest, and followed by CB+NO, CON and NO. The fungal pathogens were strongly inhibited, while several insect pests were discovered in CB treatment. Any insect pests were not found, while all fungal pathogens tested were not suppressed in NO treatment. However, in CB+NO treatment, non incidence of fungal pathogens and insect pests were found. The strain LE429 producing secondary metabolites with neem oil should be a potential agent to control fungal diseases and insect pests.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.501-506
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• 2004

In organic agriculture, choose of effective and cheap bio-pesticide is very important. The authors developed an insecticidal extract from neem cake, waste of neem oil from kernel, and applied as a bio-pesticide. Bio-pesticide neem cake extracts experiment on cabbage pest was carried out at Wonju Agricultural Technology and Extension Center from 11 March to 30 May 2003. There were six treatments with three replications, using completely randomized design. Treatments involved three and six sprays of synthetic pyrethroid pesticide cypermethrin 10 EC at the dilution rate of 2.2 mL $L^{-1}$ of distilled water and four, five and six sprays of bio-pesticide neem at the dilution rate of 13.3 mL $L^{-1}$ of distilled water, and untreated control. For each treatment, designated sprayings were done at 7 days interval. Pre-spray data showed that the plants in all the experimental plots were already infested with aphid (Aphis gossypii), and diamondback moth (Pluetella xylostella). The results indicated that all neem pesticide treatments were more effective in insecticidal activity than the untreated control and the chemical treatments in controlling aphids and diamondback moth. Among the three neem treatments, there were no significant differences between them.

• Carbon letters
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.245-248
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• 2006

Thin films of carbon-nano materials (CNMs) of different morphology have been successfully deposited on ceramic substrate by CVD at temperatures $800^{\circ}C$, $850^{\circ}C$ and $900^{\circ}C$ using plant based oils in the presence of transition metal catalysts (Ni, Co and Ni/Co alloys). Based on the return and insertion loss, microwave absorption properties of thin film of nanocarbon material are measured using passive micro-Strip line components. The result indicates that amongst CNMs synthesized from oil of natural precursors (mustered oil - Brassica napus, Karanja oil - Pongamia glabra, Cotton oil - Gossipium hirsuta and Neem oil - Azadirachta indica) carbon nano fibers obtained from neem's seed oil showed better microwave absorption (~20dB) in the range of 8.0 GHz to 17.90 GHz.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.189-192
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• 2009

The effect of plant extracts of eucalyptus (Eucalyptus chamadulonsis), garlic (Allium sativium), marigold (Tagetes erecta) and neem (Azadirachta indica) and essential oils were tested on the suppression of root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita under greenhouse and field conditions. In vitro study, all tested treatments had nematicidal effect on nematode juveniles after 24 and 48 hours from exposures. The highest percentage of nematode mortality was achieved by application of neem extract (65.4%), essential oils (64.4%) and marigold extract (60.5%), followed by garlic and eucalyptus extracts (38.7-39.5%). Under greenhouse and field conditions, neem extract and essential oils treatments were more effective in reducing population numbers of the M. incognita in soil and root gall index compared to other treatments. In field experiments, the maximum protection of tomato plant against root-knot nematode was obtained by application of neem and essential oil treatments, 44.2 and 32.6%, respectively.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.720-728
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• 2000

The different products of neem (Azadirachta indica) are utilized for variety of purposes in industry, health and animal agriculture in the Indian subcontinent. The cake from seeds after oil extraction is a good source of nutrients (CP: 35-38%; EE: 4.5-5.5%; CF: 12-15%; Ca: 0.75%; P: 0.45% on DM), and in particular, the one out of its kernel is proteinaceous and is relatively balanced in its amino acid and mineral profile. But the cake is toxic and bitter to taste owing to triterpenoids (nimbin, salannin, azadirachtin), which restricts its safe inclusion in livestock diet. Several feeding trials with raw cake have revealed poor palatability and adverse performance among different categories of livestock and poultry. Internal organ changes included histological alteration in intestine, liver, kidney and distruption of spermatogenesis and ovarian activity. Ruminants appears to tolerate reasonably higher levels of the cake and to a limited low levels of dietary inclusion also proved to be tolerable in monogastric farm animals. Debitterization through solvent (hexane, ether) extraction, water washing, alkali (NaOH, 1.5, 2.5 or 3%, wt/wt) soaking and urea (1.5 or 3%, wt/wt) - ammoniation have been tried with appreciable success in improving the palatability and nutritive value of the cake. For enhanced utilization, decortication of neem seeds is to be done effectively at industrial level with maximum oil recovery. The resultant proteinaceous kernel by-product could be a cheaper unconventional protein supplement after suitable processing.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.150-156
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• 2019

Conventional extraction of oil and azadirachtin, a botanical insecticide, from Azadirachta indica involves defatting the seeds and leaves using hexane followed by azadirachtin extraction with a polar solvent. In order to simplify the process while maintaining the yield we explored a binary extraction approach using Soxhlet extraction device and hexane and ethanol as non-polar and polar solvents at various ratios and extraction times. The highest oil and azadirachtin yields were obtained at 6 h extraction time using a 50:50 solvent mixture for both neem leaves (44.7 wt%, $720mg_{Aza}/kg_{leaves}$) and seeds (53.5 wt%, $1045mg_{Aza}/kg_{leaves}$), respectively.