research articles in siddha medicine

Journal of Siddha

Current Issue

National Institute of Siddha (NIS) was established in 2004 to offer Post-Graduate couses in Siddha, to promote research activities (doctoral and epirical) in Siddha system, to act as a Centre for advanced studies in Siddha -- framing and updating of curriculum and syllabus for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Siddha courses.

The developmental activities of academic and clinical areas must be known to the scientists of other medical systems and the public. An exclusive Journal for Siddha system alone can fulfil this need. Starting a Journal and publishing it periodically from NIS is the need of the hour and this can motivate members of the Siddha faculty and students to develop interes in writing articles for which they have to do an in-depth study of literatures and promote research activities in Siddha institutions.

'Journal of Siddha' will presently try to cater to the needs of the medical scientists, students and common public. By this Journal, we have started on a long journey by which, we hope, we will be able to fulfil the requirements of this system to become globally popularized and accepted.

• FULL TEXT [PDF]

Case Reports

Management of prolapsed uterus - grade ii with siddha internal medicine and externally with aloe vera and triphala choornam tampon: a case study, a case report on kirigai noi type in comparison with schizophrenia classification using the kirigai score scale – a siddha diagnostic method, original research articles, acute and chronic anti-inflammatory activity of siddha poly herbal drug avuri karpam, a comparative study on the nutrient profile of three porridges made from non-germinated, germinated and fermented kezhvaragu (eleucine coracana), comparative study on growth of pearl millet (pennisetum glaucum l) sprouts in different types of water to treat anaemia, evaluation of invitro anticarcinogenic activity of pirandai uppu using mtt assay, molecular docking studies of ubhasanthi chooranam against the target enzyme (mao) - a and (mao) - b of parkinson’s disease, evaluation of in vitro anti-inflammatory activity of pirandai uppu using inhibition of protein denaturation method, short communications, inculcation of siddhar yogam and siddha varmam for managing the learning disorders in adolescents via rbsk scheme - a proposal.

JOURNAL OF SIDDHA (JOS)

(A Half-Yearly Scientific Journal published by the National Institute of Siddha, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, IN)

PRINT ISSN: 0974-7001

Make a Submission

Information.

• For Readers
• For Authors
• For Librarians

© 2023 The Editor, Journal of Siddha (JOS) , National Institute of Siddha (NIS) , Chennai - 600047. All Rights Reserved

This website is best viewed in IE 8+, Firefox 3+ and Google chrome 3+ @ 1024 x 768 resolution. Also adaptive in Smartphone and Tablets

Siddha medicine--background and principles and the application for skin diseases

Affiliation.

• 1 Friends of Siddha Medicine 78, Trivandrum Road, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu 627 002, India. [email protected] <[email protected]>
• PMID: 18280906
• DOI: 10.1016/j.clindermatol.2007.11.010

Siddha medicine is one of the most ancient medical systems of India. Siddha is the mother medicine of ancient Tamils/Dravidians of peninsular South India. The word Siddha means established truth. The persons who were associated with establishing such a Siddha school of thought were known as Siddhars. They recorded their mystic findings in medicine, yoga, and astrology in Tamil. Fundamental Principles of Siddha include theories of Five Elements (Aimpootham), and Three Forces/Faults (Mukkuttram). The Eight Methods of Examination (Envakai Thervukal) is used to determine diagnosis, etiology, treatment and prognosis. Siddha has safe herbal and herbo mineral treatment for psoriasis, eczema, alopecia, diabetic ulcer, warts, vitiligo, pemphigus, pompholyx, leprosy, and many more very common and rare diseases. Lifestyle modifications including diet are important.

Publication types

• Health Services, Indigenous
• Medicine, Ayurvedic*
• Metals, Heavy / administration & dosage
• Phytotherapy / methods
• Plant Preparations / therapeutic use
• Skin / pathology
• Skin Diseases / diagnosis
• Skin Diseases / therapy*
• Metals, Heavy
• Plant Preparations

• Who’s Who
• Organization set up
• Research Policy
• Collaborative Research
• Communicable Research
• startup initiative of CCRS-ARIVU
• SCRI, Chennai
• SRRI, Puducherry
• SRRI, Thiruvananthapuram
• SMPG, Mettur
• SCRU, Palayamkottai
• SCRU, New Delhi
• SCRU, Bengaluru
• SCRU, Tirupati
• Ayush Wellness Clinic – New Delhi
• AIIA – New Delhi
• SMSU, Puducherry
• Publications
• SCRI, CHENNAI
• SRRI, PUDUCHERRY
• SRRI, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
• SMPG, METTUR
• SCRU, PALAYAMKOTTAI
• SCRU, NEW DELHI
• SCRU, BENGALURU
• SCRU, TIRUPATI
• AWC New Delhi
• Seniority List
• Gender Data
• User Charges
• Annual Report
• First Siddha Day
• Second Siddha day
• Third Siddha Day
• Fourth Siddha Day
• Fifth Siddha Day
• Sixth Siddha Day
• Seventh Siddha Day
• Siddha Aahar Receipes
• Covid 19 Publications
• Notifications
• Recruitment Rules
• Nation-wide distribution of Kabasura Kudineer/Ayush 64
• AYUSH for Immunity
• International Yoga Day
• Swasthya Raksha
• Poshan Abhiyaan
• Official language fortnight
• Pension Adalat
• Swatch Bharath Abhiyaan
• Vigilance awareness
• Anti-Terrorism Day
• No Tobacco Day
• Constitution Day
• Pharmacovigilance

Central Council for Research in Siddha

Tel: 044 – 26211621, 044 – 26212421 | Fax: 044 – 26211621 | ccrschennai(at)gmail(dot)com

Shri Sarbananda Sonowal

Hon'ble cabinet minister.

Ministry of Ayush & Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

Dr. Munjpara Mahendrabhai Kalubhai

Hon'ble minister of state.

Ministry of Ayush and Ministry of Women & Child Development.

Shri Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha

• Ministry of Ayush

Ms. Bhavna Saxena

Joint secretary, director general message.

Prof.Dr.N.J.Muthukumar

Central Council for Research in Siddha (CCRS) under Ministry of Ayush is an apex body for conducting research in Siddha system of medicine and provides health care facilities through its 8 peripheral institutes / units and 5 co-located units of CCRS. The Council is engaged in multifaceted research activities. In the area of clinical research, pre-clinical Pharmacological / Toxicological studies, Open label trials, multi-centric Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) are being conducted for acute and chronic diseases. The main emphasis is on diseases of national health priority with a view to develop safe and effective Siddha treatments.

CCRS with the support of premier medical institutes in the country has carried out several clinical trials including double blind randomized placebo-controlled trials in generating evidence of Siddha formulations in mitigating Covid-19 which has been published in peer reviewed journals. The council has completed clinical studies on Fibroid Uterus, Urolithiasis, Diabetes Mellitus, pre-diabetes, sinusitis, assessment of body constitution, Osteo-arthritis. Ongoing trials through Intra Mural Research (IMR) mode include disease conditions like Fibroid Uterus (multi-centric trial) Urolithiasis, Iron deficiency Anaemia, Psoriasis, Primary Dysmenorrhoea, Insomnia, Diabetic Nephropathy, Breast Cancer, leucorrhoea, Urinary tract infections and Adhesive capsulitis are in progress at the respective Institutes.

The WHO related activities include the inclusion of Siddha Morbidity Codes in ICD-11 ASU TM 2 Chapter. And Siddha Terminology document. Other activities include validation studies of Siddha Pharmacopoeial formulations, new formulations are also being tested for drug development and generation of IPR. SiddharKaayakalpam, SiddharYogam, external therapies like Varmam, Thokkanam are the strength of Siddha system for prevention, management and treatment of various diseases are also being validated. Council is also engaged in National collaboration with reputed scientific organization and medical institutions / Universities on diseases of national priorities.

CCRS has more than 1000 palm leaf manuscripts and involved in decoding the formulations and other contents and publishing as books. CCRS is also publishing rare Siddha literatures, palm leaf manuscripts and till now 50 books have been published. The research outcomes are converted into intellectual property rights through patents and publications in peer reviewed journals.

Announcements

Advertisement for Engagement of Outsourced Manpower (through an outsourcing agency) in PCIM&H, Ghaziabad Click here for details

For the development of Siddha system of Medicine, Govt. of India, by  bifurcating the erstwhile CCRAS, formed CCRS (Central Council for Research in Siddha) with its headquarters in Chennai and eight Research Institutes/Units in six states namely, Tamil Nadu (Chennai, Mettur & Palayamkottai), Puducherry, New Delhi, Kerala (Thiruvananthapuram), Karnataka(Banglore) and Andra Pradesh (Tirupati). Siddha is a science of holistic health emphasizing both drug and diet for human health care.

The Council has the vision of preservation and transmission of Knowledge and enhancement of the quality of research for developing drugs with quality, safety and efficacy through well-established preclinical and clinical research facilities — to prevent / manage /cure the diseases of varied aetiology.

To undertake scientific research works in Siddha in a time-bound and cost-effective manner, to coordinate, aid, promote and collaborate research with different units of sister Councils and Research Organizations.

To publish research articles/research journals, to exhibit achievements and to propagate research outcomes for all the stakeholders. To provide consultancy services for research projects and  drug development (adopting both classical and modern techniques/equipments for Diagnosis, evolving evidence based Siddha drug treatment/therapy and promoting Siddha drug manufacture in collaboration with the other technical organizations).

Photo Gallery

• Related Websites
• CCRS-SCRI, Chennai
• NIS, Chennai
• DIM & H, Govt. of TN
• AYUSH Research Portal
• NAMASTE – Portal
• PCIM & H
• All India Institute of Ayurveda

• See us on facebook
• See us on twitter
• See us on youtube
• See us on linkedin
• See us on instagram

Stanford Medicine-led study identifies novel target for epilepsy treatment

Researchers find that a little-understood part of the brain appears to be involved in starting seizures and keeping them going.

April 17, 2024 - By Kimberlee D'Ardenne

Stanford Medicine researchers and their colleagues found that removing or inhibiting the fasciola cinereum may help epilepsy patients who aren't helped by surgery. Tom - stock.adobe.com

Removing part of the brain’s temporal lobe is the only treatment available to the millions of people with a form of epilepsy that medications often don’t alleviate. But even that approach fails a third of the time.

A new study from Stanford Medicine researchers and their colleagues offers an explanation and suggests a more effective approach to treatment. They found that a previously overlooked region of the hippocampus, the fasciola cinereum, appears to be involved in instigating and propagating seizures. Removing or inhibiting the fasciola cinereum may help those patients who don’t find relief after surgery.

“The hippocampus is the best studied part of the brain by far, but there is shockingly little known about the fasciola cinereum,” said Ivan Soltesz , PhD, the James R. Doty Professor in Neurosurgery and Neurosciences and a senior author on the study. “This relatively small region was consistently involved in seizure activity in mice and in people undergoing pre-surgical electrical recordings. Our findings suggest that all patients with drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy should have depth electrodes placed in the fasciola cinereum as part of the surgery planning process.”

The work was published April 17 in Nature Medicine . Soltesz and Vivek Buch , MD, the Christina and Hamid Moghadam Faculty Scholar as well as the surgical director of the Stanford Comprehensive Epilepsy Center , are co-senior authors.

A tale of a tail

Worldwide, 65 million people live with epilepsy. Tens of millions have mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, with seizures originating, in part, from the amygdala, an almond-shaped structure involved in processing emotions, and the hippocampus, a region necessary for forming memories. When people with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy of just one hemisphere do not respond to anti-seizure drug therapies, the standard of care is surgery. In these procedures, the amygdala and most of the hippocampus in one hemisphere are either surgically removed or ablated, a technique that involves using a laser to heat up and destroy tissue. Because of the symmetry of the temporal lobe — both hemispheres of the brain have an amygdala and hippocampus — people who have these surgeries usually have minimal side effects, according to the researchers.

Ivan Soltesz

Before performing the surgery, physicians need to identify the brain tissue responsible for seizure activity. They do this by placing electrodes in areas of the brain suspected of starting or propagating seizures and taking recordings from the electrodes. This process, called stereoelectroencephalography, or sEEG, lets them map where in the brain seizure activity happens.

Though the amygdala and its next-door neighbor the hippocampus are common locations for sEEG recordings, the electrodes are typically placed in only the anterior and middle regions of the hippocampus. The human hippocampus, located deep in each hemisphere of the brain near the level of the ear, looks like a sea horse lying on its side, with its head pointing toward the front of the brain. sEEG electrodes are commonly placed in the anterior and medial regions, corresponding to the head, body and the beginnings of the tail of the sea horse.

The idea to record from the fasciola cinereum — the far tip of the sea horse’s tail — in patients with epilepsy undergoing sEEG for surgical planning first formed about three years ago, when Ryan Jamiolkowski , MD, PhD, co-lead author of the study and a resident in neurosurgery, joined the Soltesz lab.

At the time, Quynh-Anh Nguyen, PhD, co-lead author on the study and former postdoctoral scholar in the Soltesz lab who is now at Vanderbilt University, was screening for the hippocampal neurons that were active during seizures in mice. Unexpectedly, Nguyen discovered that neurons in a posterior region of the hippocampus, the fasciola cinereum, were involved in seizures.

Jamiolkowski and the research team used optogenetic techniques to test whether the fasciola cinereum could be a target for epilepsy interventions. The neurons in the fasciola cinereum were made to contain special proteins capable of shutting down neuronal activity when exposed to blue light. When electrical recordings from the hippocampus showed seizure activity, the researchers shined blue light onto the fasciola cinereum, shortening the duration of seizures in mice.

Recording from the human hippocampus tail

To understand the fasciola cinereum’s role in seizure activity in humans, Jamiolkowski and Buch recorded from the small region in six patients. All were undergoing sEEG to identify the source of their seizures in preparation for future surgeries to cure their epilepsy. The fasciola cinereum contributed recorded seizures in all six patients, including some episodes in which the head and body regions of the hippocampus were quiet.

Ryan Jamiolkowski

One of the patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy of the left hemisphere had already undergone laser ablation of the amygdala and anterior and middle regions of the hippocampus. The patient continued having seizures, and follow-up sEEG showed that the only part of the hippocampus that remained, the fasciola cinereum, was involved in all recorded seizures. The patient underwent a second surgical ablation that removed almost all of the fasciola cinereum, and the frequency of the seizures decreased by 83%, from one to two each month to once every three months.

The researchers said that patients whose seizures involve the fasciola cinereum may need to undergo two surgeries because of the shape of the hippocampus.

“The hippocampus curves like a banana, and the optical fiber used for laser ablation is a straight line. Reaching anterior and posterior regions requires different trajectories that are not currently feasible to combine into one procedure. The results of our study do not challenge the importance of ablating the amygdala and anterior hippocampus but suggest considering a second ablation targeting the posterior hippocampal tail for the patients whose seizures recur,” Jamiolkowski said.

Three of the patients had bilateral involvement of the mesial temporal lobe, which means the amygdala and hippocampus in both the right and left hemisphere showed seizure activity. Because new memories cannot be formed without at least one intact hippocampus, these patients instead received responsive neurostimulation from a device that detects and interrupts seizure activity. However, most responsive neurostimulation units can be configured to target only the anterior regions of the hippocampus on both sides of the brain. The findings from this study suggest that a more personalized approach that also allows the device to monitor and interrupt seizure activity in the posterior hippocampal tail region might be more beneficial to patients.

“Because one-third of patients — a high percentage — do not get seizure freedom from surgery, we should be putting sEEG electrodes in the fasciola cinereum in all temporal lobe epilepsy patients; seizure activity in this region could be a reason why these surgeries sometimes fail,” Jamiolkowski added. “Knowing which patients have seizures involving the fasciola cinereum would let us target it with either ablation or neurostimulation and help us treat patients better than a one-size-fits all approach.”

A researcher from Cambridge University contributed to the study.

Funding for this study was provided by the Stanford Maternal and Child Health Research Institute, the Tashia and John Morgridge Endowed Fellowship, the Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome Foundation Cure 365, the Stanford Neuroscience Scholars Program, and the National Institutes of Health (grants R25NS065741, K99NS121399, K99NS126725, NS121106 and P30AG066515).

• Kimberlee D'Ardenne Kimberlee D'Ardenne is a freelance writer.

About Stanford Medicine

Stanford Medicine is an integrated academic health system comprising the Stanford School of Medicine and adult and pediatric health care delivery systems. Together, they harness the full potential of biomedicine through collaborative research, education and clinical care for patients. For more information, please visit med.stanford.edu .

Artificial intelligence

Exploring ways AI is applied to health care

Automated machine learning robot unlocks new potential for genetics research

This technology will save labs time and money while enabling large-scale experiments.

University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers have constructed a robot that uses machine learning to fully automate a complicated microinjection process used in genetic research.

In their experiments, the researchers were able to use this automated robot to manipulate the genetics of multicellular organisms, including fruit fly and zebrafish embryos. The technology will save labs time and money while enabling them to more easily conduct new, large-scale genetic experiments that were not possible previously using manual techniques

The research is featured on the cover of the April 2024 issue of GENETICS , a peer-reviewed, open access, scientific journal. The work was co-led by two University of Minnesota mechanical engineering graduate students Andrew Alegria and Amey Joshi. The team is also working to commercialize this technology to make it widely available through the University of Minnesota start-up company, Objective Biotechnology.

Microinjection is a method for introducing cells, genetic material, or other agents directly into embryos, cells, or tissues using a very fine pipette. The researchers have trained the robot to detect embryos that are one-hundredth the size of a grain of rice. After detection, the machine can calculate a path and automate the process of the injections.

"This new process is more robust and reproducible than manual injections," said Suhasa Kodandaramaiah, a University of Minnesota mechanical engineering associate professor and senior author of the study. "With this model, individual laboratories will be able to think of new experiments that you couldn't do without this type of technology."

Typically, this type of research requires highly skilled technicians to perform the microinjection, which many laboratories do not have. This new technology could expand the ability to perform large experiments in labs, while reducing time and costs.

"This is very exciting for the world of genetics. Writing and reading DNA have drastically improved in recent years, but having this technology will increase our ability to perform large-scale genetic experiments in a wide range of organisms," said Daryl Gohl, a co-author of the study, the group leader of the University of Minnesota Genomics Center's Innovation Lab and research assistant professor in the Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development.

Not only can this technology be used in genetic experiments, but it can also help to preserve endangered species through cryopreservation, a preservation technique conducted at ultra-low temperatures.

"You can use this robot to inject nanoparticles into cells and tissues that helps in cryopreservation and in the process of rewarming afterwards," Kodandaramaiah explained.

Other team members highlighted other applications for the technology that could have even more impact.

"We hope that this technology could eventually be used for in vitro fertilization, where you could detect those eggs on the microscale level," said Andrew Alegria, co-lead author on the paper and University of Minnesota mechanical engineering graduate research assistant in the Biosensing and Biorobotics Lab.

• Medical Devices
• Personalized Medicine
• Medical Imaging
• Educational Technology
• Artificial Intelligence
• Robot calibration
• Computational neuroscience
• Industrial robot
• Molecular biology
• Weight machine
• Computer vision

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Minnesota . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

• Andrew D Alegria, Amey S Joshi, Jorge Blanco Mendana, Kanav Khosla, Kieran T Smith, Benjamin Auch, Margaret Donovan, John Bischof, Daryl M Gohl, Suhasa B Kodandaramaiah. High-throughput genetic manipulation of multicellular organisms using a machine-vision guided embryonic microinjection robot . GENETICS , 2024; 226 (4) DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyae025

Cite This Page :

Explore More

• New Circuit Boards Can Be Repeatedly Recycled
• Collisions of Neutron Stars and Black Holes
• Advance in Heart Regenerative Therapy
• Bioluminescence in Animals 540 Million Years Ago
• Profound Link Between Diet and Brain Health
• Loneliness Runs Deep Among Parents
• Food in Sight? The Liver Is Ready!
• Acid Reflux Drugs and Risk of Migraine
• Do Cells Have a Hidden Communication System?
• Mice Given Mouse-Rat Brains Can Smell Again

Trending Topics

Strange & offbeat.

• History, Facts & Figures
• YSM Dean & Deputy Deans
• YSM Administration
• Department Chairs
• YSM Executive Group
• YSM Board of Permanent Officers
• FAC Documents
• Current FAC Members
• Appointments & Promotions Committees
• Ad Hoc Committees and Working Groups
• Chair Searches
• Leadership Searches
• Organization Charts
• Faculty Demographic Data
• Professionalism Reporting Data
• 2022 Diversity Engagement Survey
• State of the School Archive
• Faculty Climate Survey: YSM Results
• Strategic Planning
• Mission Statement & Process
• Beyond Sterling Hall
• COVID-19 Series Workshops
• Previous Workshops
• Departments & Centers
• Find People
• Biomedical Data Science
• Health Equity
• Inflammation
• Neuroscience
• Global Health
• Diabetes and Metabolism
• Policies & Procedures
• Media Relations
• A to Z YSM Lab Websites
• A-Z Faculty List
• A-Z Staff List
• A to Z Abbreviations
• Dept. Diversity Vice Chairs & Champions
• Dean’s Advisory Council on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Affairs Website
• Minority Organization for Retention and Expansion Website
• Office for Women in Medicine and Science
• Committee on the Status of Women in Medicine Website
• Director of Scientist Diversity and Inclusion
• Diversity Supplements
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Recruitment
• By Department & Program
• News & Events
• Executive Committee
• Aperture: Women in Medicine
• Self-Reflection
• Portraits of Strength
• Mindful: Mental Health Through Art
• Event Photo Galleries
• Additional Support
• MD-PhD Program
• PA Online Program
• Joint MD Programs
• How to Apply
• Advanced Health Sciences Research
• Clinical Informatics & Data Science
• Clinical Investigation
• Medical Education
• Visiting Student Programs
• Special Programs & Student Opportunities
• Residency & Fellowship Programs
• Center for Med Ed
• Organizational Chart
• Leadership & Staff
• Committee Procedural Info (Login Required)
• Faculty Affairs Department Teams
• Recent Appointments & Promotions
• Academic Clinician Track
• Clinician Educator-Scholar Track
• Clinican-Scientist Track
• Investigator Track
• Traditional Track
• Research Ranks
• Instructor/Lecturer
• Social Work Ranks
• Voluntary Ranks
• Adjunct Ranks
• Other Appt Types
• Appointments
• Reappointments
• Transfer of Track
• Term Extensions
• Timeline for A&P Processes
• Interfolio Faculty Search
• Interfolio A&P Processes
• Yale CV Part 1 (CV1)
• Yale CV Part 2 (CV2)
• Samples of Scholarship
• Teaching Evaluations
• Letters of Evaluation
• Dept A&P Narrative
• A&P Voting
• Faculty Affairs Staff Pages
• OAPD Faculty Workshops
• Leadership & Development Seminars
• List of Faculty Mentors
• Incoming Faculty Orientation
• Faculty Onboarding
• Past YSM Award Recipients
• Past PA Award Recipients
• Past YM Award Recipients
• International Award Recipients
• Nominations Calendar
• OAPD Newsletter
• Fostering a Shared Vision of Professionalism
• Academic Integrity
• Addressing Professionalism Concerns
• Consultation Support for Chairs & Section Chiefs
• Policies & Codes of Conduct
• Health & Well-being
• First Fridays
• Fund for Physician-Scientist Mentorship
• Grant Library
• Grant Writing Course
• Mock Study Section
• Research Paper Writing
• Funding Opportunities
• Join Our Voluntary Faculty
• Child Mental Health: Fostering Wellness in Children
• Faculty Resources
• Research by Keyword
• Research by Department
• Research by Global Location
• Translational Research
• Research Cores & Services
• Program for the Promotion of Interdisciplinary Team Science (POINTS)
• CEnR Steering Committee
• Experiential Learning Subcommittee
• Goals & Objectives
• Issues List
• Print Magazine PDFs
• Print Newsletter PDFs
• YSM Events Newsletter
• Social Media
• Patient Care

INFORMATION FOR

• Residents & Fellows
• Researchers

Shaping Sustainable Research "Shark"-style

"shark"-style research competition.

Leadership at Yale Urology has committed again to back its new tradition of “Shark Tank,” a departmental research competition patterned after the television show of the same name, which aims to promote innovation that can include even risky ideas.

During this, the competition’s second year, two teams have received funding to work on original projects.

Urinary Tract Infections and Spina Bifida

A team led by Adam Hittelman, MD, PhD, and Darryl Martin, PhD, will use its funding to try to identify new treatments for urinary tract infections in the pediatric spina bifida population.

“We are excited to receive the urology pilot grant,” says Hittelman. “Recurrent urinary tract infections are an especially challenging problem with this group [of patients]. We hope to collect enough initial data to apply for an NIH grant.”

Chair Isaac Y. Kim, MD, PhD, MBA, started the program in 2023 to serve as seed money – encouraging faculty to take calculated risks and try new approaches across divisions that may lead to innovative solutions. With enough data, it is possible these groups may receive sustainable backing and move the dial on patient care.

Bladder Cancer, Chemo, and Surgery

Fed Ghali, MD, and John Onofrey, PhD, lead the other team awarded in this year’s competition. They are set on answering the question asked by a subset of bladder cancer patients having surgery after chemo: "If there was no cancer in the bladder, why did I need to have this big surgery?”

“It turns out at least part of the answer is that we do not have a reliable way to identify chemo-responders that have been made cancer-free until their bladder is already removed and assessed by a pathologist,” says Ghali.

Through their research, titled "Integrating machine learning and radiomics for automated assessment of pathologic response following neoadjuvant chemotherapy in muscle-invasive bladder cancer,” Drs. Ghali and Onofrey are eager to see where it will lead patient care.

They have already begun to gather data and organize the next steps of their study, with a particular focus on technology.

“Dr. Onofrey and his associates specialize in machine learning and artificial intelligence for evaluating imaging studies. For instance, he and his lab use CT scans to glean all kinds of information that humans can’t extract by standard methods of interpretation,” says Ghali. “It’s possible this technology could help us identify those super-responders to chemotherapy and perhaps avoid radical surgery in up to 40% of patients.”

Needle Tract Circulating Tumor Cells

The Department of Urology’s inaugural “Shark Tank” competition in 2023 had several winners, including Darryl Martin, PhD, and Ralph Devito, MD.

Their research aims to determine the prevalence of needle tract circulating tumor cells, which are cancer cells that break away from the primary tumor and enter the bloodstream.

“We are still in the project's data collection phase but are very excited about its direction,” says Martin. “Dr. Devito and I have established a strong collaboration and are working well together. The project's next phase will be data analysis and manuscript preparation, and then we will seek additional funding opportunities.”

Yale Urology’s new vice chair of research, Michael Leapman, MD, MHS, says he is pleased with the overall progress of the competition. “The pilot awards represent an exciting investment, allowing investigators to ask innovative and provocative questions that may translate into new discoveries in the future.”

• Bladder Cancer

Featured in this article

• Ralph J. Devito, MD Assistant Professor of Urology
• Fed Ghali, MD Assistant Professor
• Adam Benjamin Hittelman, MD, PhD Associate Professor in Urology; Section Chief of Pediatric Urology, Urology
• Isaac Y. Kim, MD, PhD, MBA Professor of Urology; Chair, Urology; Chief, Urology; Co-Leader, Cancer Signaling Networks, Yale Cancer Center
• Michael S. Leapman, MD, MHS Associate Professor of Urology; Clinical Program Leader, Prostate & Urologic Cancers Program, Yale Cancer Center; Assistant Professor, Chronic Disease Epidemiology
• Darryl T. Martin, PhD Assistant Professor
• John Onofrey, PhD Assistant Professor of Radiology & Biomedical Imaging and of Urology

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Asian Pac J Trop Biomed
• v.3(7); 2013 Jul

Neem ( Azadirachta indica ): Prehistory to contemporary medicinal uses to humankind

Venugopalan santhosh kumar.

1 Centre for Drug Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia

Visweswaran Navaratnam

2 Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), 1 Place St Gervais, CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland

The divine tree neem ( Azadirachta indica ) is mainly cultivated in the Indian subcontinent. Neem has been used extensively by humankind to treat various ailments before the availability of written records which recorded the beginning of history. The world health organization estimates that 80% of the population living in the developing countries relies exclusively on traditional medicine for their primary health care. More than half of the world's population still relies entirely on plants for medicines, and plants supply the active ingredients of most traditional medical products. The review shows the neem has been used by humankind to treat various ailments from prehistory to contemporary.

1. Introduction

Neem is an omnipotent tree and a sacred gift of nature. Neem tree is mainly cultivated in the Indian subcontinent. Neem is a member of the mahogany family, Meliaceae. Today it is known by the botanical name Azadirachta indica ( A. indica ) A. Juss. Neem has been used extensively by humankind to treat various ailments before the availability of written records which recorded the beginning of history. Since prehistoric times, neem has been used by humankind.

The latinized name of neem, Azadirachta indica , is derived from the Persian. Azad means “free”; dirakht means “tree”; i-Hind means “of Indian origin”. Hence it literally means “the free tree of India” [1] . The neem tree is an incredible plant that has been declared the “Tree of the 21st century” by the United Nations [2] . The US National Academy of Science published a report in 1992 entitled “Neem: A tree for solving global problems” [3] .

2. Neem during prehistoric times

The age of the earth is (4.54±0.05) billion years. Plants from the supercontinent spread onto the land 475 million years ago. Anatomically modern humans inhabited 200 000 years ago [4] . Pangaea was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras, forming about 300 million years ago. The name Pangaea is derived from ancient Greek pan meaning “entire”, and Gaia meaning “earth”. The single global ocean which surrounded Pangaea is accordingly named Panthalassa [5] .

Pangaea broke into two pieces, one in the north, and the other in the south ( Figure 1 ) [5] . Scientists called the two new continents Laurasia (the continent in the north), and Gondwanaland (the continent in the south).

The concept of Lemuria was born in the 1860s when certain British geologists noted the striking similarity between rock formations and fossils found in India and Africa. Maps of the lost land were produced taking the idea from the palaeo-continent of Gondwana that existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago ( Figure 2 ) [6] .

It separated from Laurasia 200-180 million years ago during the breakup of Pangaea. Two hundred million years ago, the continents of Antarctica, South America, Africa, India and Australia were joined together as a single supercontinent known as Gondwana, or Gondwanaland [6] .

In the research of Joseph, the existence of a land is called Lemuria, which is one of the world's oldest civilizations about 2.0 lakhs years ago [7] . Due to tsunami, people regularly moved from the Island Mu to Atlantis in Mexican Sea and Kumari Kandam in Indian Ocean about 100 000 years ago ( Figures 3 – 5 ) [8] – [10] .

Kumari Kandam is said to have been located in the Indian Ocean, to the south of present day Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu at the southern tip of India [10] . There are certain references in Tamil Sangam (Sangam literature) classics to a landmass where people lived and which was swallowed up by the sea. The literary references of the lost land were about three Tamil Sangams (Academy of poets). The other meaning of Sangams is assemblies of siddhars.

First two Sangams taking place in a sunken land mass was called Kumari Kandam. The first Tamil Sangam located in Thenmadurai, had 4 449 poets and 549 members including the father of Siddha medicine Agathiyar and lasted for 4 440 years. The head of Sangam was Agathiyar ( Figure 6 ) [11] .

Agathiyar specialized in medicine, language, alchemy and spirituality. Siddhars were the great scientists of ancient days. After the sea swallowed Thenmadurai, the capital was shifted to Kaptapuram. The second Sangam functioned for 3 700 years and had 59 members, with 3 700 poets participating. This city was also submerged in the sea. The capital was shifted to the present Madurai. Here the third Sangam was established and functioned for 1 850 years. The academy had 49 members, and 449 poets were described as having participated in the Sangam [12] . The Tamil Sangam classics refer to a populated land Kumari Kandam, which was submerged in the sea.

Siddha medicine is one of the oldest medical systems known to mankind [13] . Its origin goes back to 10 000 B.C to 4 000 B.C. As per the textual and archeological evidences which indicated the remote antiquity of the Dravidian civilization of the erstwhile submerged land Kumari Kandam, situated in the Indian Ocean. Kumari Kandam civilization went back to 50 000 B.C. The Siddha system of medicine (traditional Tamil system of medicine), which has been prevalent in the ancient Tamil land, is the foremost of all other medical systems in the world.

In the annals of the ancient Siddha system of medicine, the first medicinal plant mentioned as well as found a place, in ancient Tamil literature is neem or margosa. Neem has been used by humankind from time immemorial as a deterrent for smallpox and other infectious diseases and is also considered to possess powers to ward off evil spirits. The earliest mention about the uses of medicinal plants were found in Thirumular Thirumantiram-Ennayiram, Tholkappiam and the ancient Tamil works of Sangam literature, which were believed to have been written thousands of years ago [14] .

The roots of Siddha medical system, which has been practiced in South India, go far beyond the historical boundaries. It has existed as a separate system of medicine thousands of years before the dawn of history.

3. Siddha mission to China and transmigration

Bhogar Siddhar proceeded to China to spread the knowledge of Siddha sciences as per the last wishes of his guru Kalangi Nathar who belongs to China ( Figure 7 ) [15] . In his palm leaf manuscripts, Bhogar claims to have flown to China at one point in a sort of airplane which he built and he held discussions with Chinese Siddhas before returning to India. Kalangi Nathar made China the center of his teaching activities. Kalangi Nathar decided to enter into samadhi in seclusion for 3 000 years. In China, Bhogar was instructed by Kalangi Nathar in all aspects of the Siddha sciences. These included the preparation and use of the kaya kalpa herbal formulae to promote longevity. After Kalangi Nathar entered into trance, Bhogar assumed his teaching mission to the Chinese. To facilitate this, he transmigrated and thereafter went by the name “Bo-Yang”. “Bo” is a derivation of the word “Bhogam” which means bliss, material and spiritual [16] .

This bliss, for which he was named “Bo-Yang” is experienced when the Kundalini shakti, the feminine primordial yin energy awakens, passes up to the crown of the head, the masculine yang pole, in the Sahasra cakra (Sanskrit word) at the summit of the head and unites with it. Many natural dualities (such as female and male, dark and light, low and high, cold and hot, water and fire, life and death and so on) are thought of as physical manifestations of the yin-yang concept.

After this incident with the Chinese disciples, Bo-Yang became also known as Lao-Tzu (“Old Master”), and was accessible for nearly 200 years, and trained hundreds of Chinese disciples. The courtesy name of Lao Tze was Bo-yang ( Figure 8 ) [17] .

In the fifth century B.C, Confucius met Lao-Tzu and afterwards said of him: “I know a bird can fly, a fish can swim, and an animal can run. For that which runs, a net can be fashioned; for that which swims, a line can be strung. But the ascent of a Dragon on the wind into heaven is something which is beyond my knowledge. Today I have met Lao-Tzu, who is perhaps like a dragon”. Bo-Yang's leading disciple was Yu (whom he also gave the Indian name Pulipani).

At the end of his mission to China, about 400 B.C, Bo-Yang, with his disciple Yu and other close disciples, left China by the land route. As recorded in the Taoist literature, at the request of the gatekeeper at the Han Ku mountain pass Lao-Tzu crystallized his teachings. He did so in two books, the Tao Ching, with 37 verses, and the Te Ching with 42 verses.

Upon Bhogar return to Tamil Nadu, India, he submitted his 7 000 verse manuscript for evaluation to his guru, Agathiyar at Courtrallam and to an academy of Siddhas there. It was endorsed by all of them as a great work.

Later, after the period of the Six Dynasties (220 to 590 A.D), Bhogar returned with some Tamil disciples to China as a second mission to China. He left his mission in Tamil Nadu with Pulipani (Yu), the Chinese Siddha.

The emergence of Lao Tze with his theory of duality of matter and the journey of Bhogar to China seem to have taken place at same time and it is even possible Bhogar himself transmigrated as Lao Tze in China, like another Siddhar Sri Ramadevar, who was known as Yacob in Arabia.

According to the traditions of Southern India, there are 18 siddhars in particular who attained perfection, which included their spiritual, intellectual, mental, vital and physical bodies. The names of these 18 siddhars vary according to different sources. Siddhars travel across the world. Ramadevar Siddhar travelled to India and Arabia. In Arabia, he was known as Yacob. Pulasityar Siddhar belongs to Sri Lanka. Punnaikannar Siddhar belongs to Egypt. As Bhogar had close connection with China, it was said to be that Roma Rishi Siddhar had connection with Rome. Hence he was called Roma Rishi.

Bhogar visiting to South America has been confirmed by accounts left by the Muycas of Chile “Bocha, who gave laws to Muycas, was a white, bearded man, wearing long robes, who regulated the calendar, established festivals, and vanished in time like others (other remarkable teachers who had come across the Pacific according to numerous legends of Incas, Aztecs and Mayans)”.

4. Neem in Siddha

All parts of neem tree are commonly used in traditional Indian medicine for household remedy against various human diseases [18] . The definition of Siddha medicine is conquest of death: “that which ensures preventive against mortality”. This statement is attributed to Tirumular, a revered Siddha whose treatise called Tirumantiram [19] . This system of medicine originated from Tamil Nadu, South India. The system was very popular in ancient India. Believed to be more than 10 000 years old, the Siddha system of medicine is considered to be one of the most antiquated traditional medical systems. The Siddha system of medicine is prevalent in the southern states of India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Singapore. The first medicinal plant mentioned in the Siddha medical system is neem.

The uniqueness of Siddha system is evident by its continuous service to the humanity for more than 5 000 years in combating diseases and also in maintaining its physical, mental and moral health while many of its contemporaries had become extinct long ago [20] .

Siddhars were spiritual adepts who possessed the Ashta Siddhis, or the eight supernatural powers. The word Siddha came from the word siddhi, which means the perfection of heavenly bliss. Sage Agathiyar is considered the guru of all Sidhars, and the Siddha system is believed to have been handed over to him by Lord Muruga.

Typically siddhars were saints, doctors, alchemists and mysticists all at once. They wrote their findings, in the form of poems in Tamil language, on palm leaves which are collected and stored in what are known today as palm leaf manuscript, today still owned by private families in Tamil Nadu and handed down through the generations, as well as public institutions such as universities all over the world (India, Germany, Great Britain and USA).

5. Palm leaf manuscript

Palm leaf manuscript is one of the oldest medium of writing in India especially in Southern India. It is also the major source for writing and painting in South and Southeast Asian countries. Digital enhancement of palm leaf manuscripts images using normalization techniques was carried out in the State University of New York. In 1997, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognized the Tamil Medical Manuscript Collection as part of the Memory of the World Register [21] . A very good example of usage of palm leaf manuscripts to store the history is a Tamil grammar book named Tolkappiyam, which was written during the 4th century B.C. A global digitalization project led by the Tamil Heritage Foundation collects, preserves, digitizes and makes ancient palm leaf manuscript documents available to users via the internet.

The Memory of the World Register is a compendium of documents, manuscripts, oral traditions, audio-visual materials, library, and archival holdings of universal value. The Institute of Asian Studies, Chennai serves as Asian regional training centre for UNESCO's Memory of the World project to conserve and digitalize thousands of Asian palm leaf manuscripts, starting with the Tamil Medical Manuscript Collection of the Institute of Asian Studies and other manuscript repositories in South India. Palm leaf manuscripts are also conserved in McCain Library, the University of Southern Mississippi.

Most Tamil medical manuscripts preserved at the Institute of Asian Studies reflect the ancient system of medicine. This system explains the methods of obtaining medicines from herbs, herbal roots, leaves, flowers, barks and fruits. The proportions of the ingredients as well as the specific processes are explained in detail [22] .

Three hundred and fifty years old palm leaf manuscript conserved in the Centre for Traditional Medicine and Research (CTMR), Chennai, India, reveals the medicinal uses of neem trees ( Figure 9 ).

The above palm leaf manuscript reveals the therapeutic uses of neem and explicit that neem flower will be used to prevent and treat bile disorders; neem leaf will be used to prevent and treat ulcers; and neem bark will be used to prevent and treat CNS disorders, paralysis and psychatric disorders. This palm leaf manuscript is 350 years old. This particular palm leaf manuscript was called Agathiyar Gunavagadam. Originally Agathiyar Gunavagadam which was written by the great Siddhar Agathiyar in the 6th century B.C and it was carried generations to generations by siddhars.

The siddhars wrote their knowledge in palm leaf manuscripts. They also propagated Siddha system of medicine in Arabia, Persia, Turkey, China and other places. Siddha is the science which takes human and nature as part of closed system. The basis of Siddha science is understanding that earth, air, water, fire and ether correspond to five senses of human body are fundamentals to all living things. All created or evolved matters in the world, whether animal or vegetable or mineral, all fall under these categories. The human anatomy and physiology, causative factors of diseases, materials for the treatment and cure of the disease, also fall in the five elemental categories. These give rise to three doshas or humors. This knowledge has been passed from one generation to another through written medium mostly in palm leaf parchments.

Perhaps they were aware of the germicidal action and the medicinal properties of the margosa. Tirumular, the great Siddha is said to have been in deep penance for several thousands of years in eternal bliss under a sacred papal tree.

The neem tree has been widely used in the traditional systems of medicine. It is of immense use in a number of medicines and personal products. Its curative power is being used on a large scale to manufacture medicines for skin diseases including leprosy, ulcers, gastro intestinal problems, oral care, urinary track problems, hair problems, diabetes, blood Pressure and cholesterol.

6. Neem in Indus Valley civilization

On the Indian subcontinent, the neem tree has been used for more than 4 500 years. The earliest documentation of neem mentioned the fruit, seeds, oil, leaves, roots and bark for their advantageous medicinal properties.

The first recorded indication that neem was being used in the medical treatment was about 4 500 years ago. This was the high point of the Indian Harappa culture, one of the great civilizations in the ancient world. There is evidence found from excavations at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro in Northwestern and Western India, in which several therapeutic compounds including neem leaves, were gathered in the ruins.

In 1922, British archaeologists began to excavate the sites of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. They uncovered the remains of long-forgotten cities. British archaeologists discovered the 5 000 year-old Indus Valley civilization. They were amazed to discover two cities - Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. These cities were so advanced that they could practically compete with cities today in areas of architecture, engineering and construction. The streets were designed in a grid system that was well planned and organized. There was an underground sewer system with stone manhole covers for access. A sophisticated water supply and drainage system with waterproof brickwork ran throughout the city. The houses were spacious in the upper class sections containing modern amenities like lavatory facilities.

They also found skulls upon which cranial surgery had been performed, and clay pots, which contained medicinal herbs. One of the most prominent medicinal herbs they found was A. indica , which is also known as neem. It shows the first evidence of an advanced medical system that includes both surgery and phytopharmacology in one of the world's most ancient and developed civilizations [23] .

7. Distribution of neem

At the beginning of this century, the neem tree was still highly esteemed by Indian emigrants who took it along to the places where they settled. Thus, the neem tree was introduced in places such as Australia, East and sub-Sahelian Africa, South East Asia, and South America. Today, the neem is well established in at least 30 countries worldwide, in Asia, Africa and Central and South America. Some small scale plantations are also reportedly successful in Europe and United States of America.

Neem trees are fast growers, and in three years may grow to 20 feet in height from seed planting. It will grow where rainfall is only 18 inches per year and it thrives in areas of extreme heat up to 120 degrees. It is estimated that a neem tree has a productive life span of 150 - 200 years. It is estimated that there are around 18 millions neem trees in India.

Neem tree is found all over in Malaysia. It exists mainly in Kedah, Penang, Langkawi and Perlis. Neem tree is found widely in Sungai Petani, Kedah, Malaysia.

Neem trees were also introduced in Pan Zhi Hua, Sichuan province, China [24] . There are over 400 000 neems in Yunnan province that make Yunnan the biggest artificial area of neem planting globally and the raw material center of neem products in China. In 1995, the researcher of Chinese Academy of Forestry introduced the neem in India to the hot river valley areas in Yunnan and the neem grows well there. The research group has introduced the neem from South Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa to China since 1997. In 1998, the demonstration of industrial neem planting was started out in China. Because of the advantages on climate and terrain, the neem planting was popularized and promoted in Yunnan rapidly. Yunnan has had the largest area of neem plantation. Chinese Academy of Forestry plays an important role in cultivating technology of neem [25] .

In the last two decades, research on neem has been intensified and many of the agricultural and medical properties of neem were rediscovered. Today, neem plays a major role in the rural industry of India, and projects for the commercial use of neem have been successfully introduced in the places like Kenya [26] .

Earlier this century, people somehow managed to introduce this Indian tree to West Africa, where it has since grown well. They probably expected neem to be useful only as a source of shade and medicinal especially for malaria. But in Ghana, it has become the leading producer of firewood for the densely populated Accra Plains, and from Somalia to Mauritania, it is a leading candidate for helping halt the southward spread of the Sahara Desert. A. indica is an extensively popular tree in Nigeria and is commonly referred to as Neem (English), “Dogon Yaro” (Hausa) and “Akun shorop” (Igbo). Senegal Neem Foundation (SNF) was created by Dr. D. D. Faye, as a crucial part of Africa Bound Corporation. Africa considers neem as a green gold. In Senegal, neem tree is known as the “Independence Tree” [27] .

The world's largest neem plantations are 10 sq km in the plains of Arafat, Saudi Arabia. A Saudi philanthropist planted 50 000 neem trees to shade and comforts the two million pilgrims [28] . In the last decade, neem has been introduced into the Caribbean, where it is being used to help reforest several nations. Neem is already a major tree species in Haiti.

8. Drugs from nature

The world health organization (WHO) estimates that 80% of the population living in the developing countries relies exclusively on traditional medicine for their primary health care. More than half of the world's population still relies entirely on plants for medicines, and plants supply the active ingredients of most traditional medical products. Researchers generally agree that natural products from plants and other organisms have been the most consistently successful source for ideas for new drugs. Drug discovery scientists often refer to these ideas as “leads,” and chemicals that have desirable properties in lab tests are called lead compounds [29] . Plants became the basis of traditional medicine system throughout the world for thousands of years and continue to provide mankind with new remedies. The plant based indigenous knowledge was passed down from generation to generation in various parts of the world, especially in the Indian sub-continent and has significantly contributed to the development of different traditional systems of medicines [30] .

9. Contemporary medicinal uses of neem in humankind

Neem ( A. indica ) is a divine tree mainly cultivated in Indian subcontinent and it is commonly known as neem [31] , [32] . All the parts of A. indica tree is commonly used in traditional Indian medicine for household remedy against various human diseases [33] . Indian people have long revered the neem tree ( A. indica ). For centuries, millions have cleaned their teeth with neem twigs, smeared skin disorders with neem leaf juice, taken neem tea as a tonic, and placed neem leaves in their beds, books, grain bins, cupboards, and closets to keep away troublesome bugs. The tree has relieved so many different pains, fevers, infections, and other complaints so that it has been called “the village pharmacy.” In rural India, peoples often used water decoction of neem leaves for the prevention and treatment of various ailments. Research undertaken in the University of Nigeria showed the medicinal properties of fractionated acetone/water neem leaf extract [34] . Tests conducted at the King Institute of Preventive Medicine, Chennai in December 2012 found that the Siddha neem preparation brought down symptoms and speeded up the recovery of patients affected by dengue [35] .

To those millions in India, neem has miraculous powers, and now scientists around the world are beginning to think they may be right. Two decades of researches have revealed promising results in so many disciplines that this obscure species may be of enormous benefit to countries both poor and rich. Even some of the most cautious researchers are saying that “Neem deserves to be called a wonder plant”.

9.1. Antibacterial activity

Recent research shows the isolation and identification of the antibacterial active compound from petroleum ether extract of neem oil [36] . The study of Zhong et al . showed an antibacterial activity of 9-octadecanoic acid-hexadecanoic acid-tetrahydrofuran-3,4-diyl ester from neem oil [37] . Elavarasu et al. studied in vitro anti-plaque microbial activity of neem oil [38] .

9.2. Antiviral

Galhardi et al . studied the in vitro antiviral property of Azadirachta indica polysaccharides for poliovirus [39] . The study of Saha et al. showed water extracted polysaccharides from A. indica leaves with anti-bovine herpes virus type 1 (BoHV-1) activity [40] . The research of Xu et al . showed the in vitro antiviral activity of neem seed kernel extracts against duck plague virus [41] . Tiwari et al . showed the in vitro antiviral activity of neem ( A. indica L.) bark extract against herpes simplex virus type-1 infection [42] .

9.3. Sexually transmitted disease

Few researchers have focused on neem efficacy in treating sexually transmitted diseases. The reports that have been completed are overwhelmingly positive. Recent research of Shokeen et al. showed the evaluation of the activity of 16 medicinal plants against Neisseria gonorrhoeae [43] .

9.4. Neem and the immune system

Thoh et al . studied that azadirachtin interacts with the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) binding domain of its receptors and inhibits TNF induced biological responses [44] .

9.5. Anti-inflammatory activity

The study of Alam et al. showed the anti-inflammatory activity of epoxyazadiradione against macrophage migration inhibitory factor [45] . Thoh et al . found that azadirachtin interacts with retinoic acid receptors and inhibits retinoic acid-mediated biological responses [46] .

9.6. Antioxidant effect

Manikandan et al . researched that antioxidant and protective effects of active neem leaf fractions against hydrogen peroxide induced oxidative damage to pBR322 DNA and red blood cells [47] .

9.7. Anticarcinogenic activity

Chatterjee et al. showed that identification of a sulfonoquinovosyldiacylglyceride from A. indica and studies on its cytotoxic activity and DNA binding properties [48] . Perumal et al. studied ethanolic neem ( A. indica A. Juss) leaf extract induced apoptosis and inhibits the IGF signaling pathway in breast cancer cell lines [49] . Aravindan et al. showed that molecular basis of ‘hypoxic’ breast cancer cell radio-sensitization with phytochemicals [50] . Induction of apoptosis in human breast cancer cells by nimbolide were carried out by Elumalai et al [51] . Srivastava et al. showed that neem oil limonoids induces p53-independent apoptosis and autophagy [52] . A review of the anticancer biology of Azadirachta indica was carried out by Paul et al [53] . Research of Veeraraghavan et al. showed the effect of neem leaf extract on rel protein-regulated cell death/radiosensitization in pancreatic cancer cells [54] . Mahapatra et al. showed novel molecular targets of Azadirachta indica associated with inhibition of tumor growth in prostate cancer [55] .

9.8. Skin diseases

Neem has a remarkable effect on chronic skin conditions. Acne, psoriasis, eczema, ringworm and even stubborn warts are among the conditions that can clear up easily when high quality, organic neem oil is used. Neem oil and leaves has been used in Siddha medicine for the treatment of skin diseases [56] . In addition, neem oil can be used as an excellent component of cosmetics to help clear, beautify and rejuvenate the skin.

9.9. Antisnake venom activity

Ashis et al. studied a snake venom phospholipase A2 (PLA2) inhibitor (AIPLAI) was isolated from leaves of A. indica (neem) and the mechanism of PLA2 inhibition by AIPLAI in vitro condition was also studied [57] .

9.10. Digestive disorders

Neem is generally accepted in the ayurvedic medical tradition as a therapy for ulcers and other types of gastric discomfort. Neem promotes a healthy digestive system by protecting the stomach, aiding in elimination and removing toxins and harmful bacteria. Bandyopadhyay et al. studied the neem bark extract of gastroprotective effect [58] .

9.11. Parasitic diseases

Historically, neem has been used to rid the body of all forms of parasites. Neem quickly kills external and internal parasites. Neem extracts have hormone mimics that interfere with the life cycle of parasites, inhibit their ability to feed and prevent the eggs from hatching. Abdel et al . studied the efficacy of a single treatment of head lice with a neem seed extract [59] . Luong et al. found that neem leaf slurry is a sustainable, natural product and anopheline larvicide in west African Villages [60] .

10. Conclusion

This article clearly shows that neem ( A. indica ) has been used by humankind to treat various ailments from prehistory to contemporary.

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr. T. Thirunarayanan, Centre for Traditional Medicine and Research (CTMR), Chennai, Tamilnadu, India. This work was financially supported by Digitalization of Tamil Siddha Palm Manuscripts, Project of Centre For Traditional Medicine and Research (CTMR), Department of AYUSH, Government of India (Grant No: Z28016/14/2010IEC).

A majority of the world population in developing and low income countries relies on traditional medicine for their primary health care. In this context, neem tree is a promising prospect for the alleviation of common health problems in the developing world. The manuscript emphasizes the historical links of neem tree with ancient medicines systems around the globe and its role in health care systems in the ancient medicine. It also stresses the need for its further exploration and its incorporation into modern medicine.

Research frontiers

The authors had highlighted the biodiversified applications of neem tree in the ancient health care system with well supported literature. The historical links of neem tree with human evolution and its application in health care management have been widely discussed. It also calls for further exploration of the biopotential of neem tree in its utilization in modern medicine.

Related reports

The authors had presented the manuscript in a well organized manner and the literature support for the claims and postulations had been correlating well.

Innovations and breakthroughs

The manuscript provides a detailed description of the existing historical evidences of neem tree with the mankind and its application in health care systems from ancient times to the modern medicine. It portraits a clear description of neem tree and its broad biopotential activity.

Applications

The recommendation of the present studies emphasizes on exploration of neem tree as a major source for development of more therapeutic molecules and creation of more scientific evidences for its various medicinal applications.

Peer review

The manuscript is convincing and is based on the diversified application of neem tree. The article has been highlighted with the historical links of neem tree with the ancient medicines. It also gives a detailed description of the existing historical evidences of need tree with the mankind and in medicine. It has provided a new insight into the exploration and utilization of neem tree as a source for development of new therapeutic molecules.

Foundation Project: Financially supported by Digitalization of Tamil Siddha Palm Manuscripts, Project of Centre For Traditional Medicine and Research (CTMR), Department of AYUSH, Government of India (Grant No: Z28016/14/2010IEC).

Conflict of interest statement: We declare that we have no conflict of interest.

Can nasal Neosporin fight COVID? Surprising new research suggests it works

A potential treatment for covid-19 may have been hiding in our medicine cabinets, a new study in pnas has found, by nicole karlis.

Four years ago, when COVID-19 first began to spread globally, it didn't just damage our physical health, but also the health of our information ecosystem. Ever since, the internet has been rife with health misinformation on ways to treat or protect oneself against the coronavirus. First, internet healers falsely suggested that gargling salt water and vinegar could prevent a coronavirus infection. Then, despite multiple studies debunking the effectiveness of ivermectin , an anti-parasitic drug used in horses (and less commonly in humans), Joe Rogan fans continued to cling onto it as a potential treatment .

Health misinformation is a symptom of a lack of certainty. When there is no guaranteed preventative measure or treatment, people are bound to find solutions on their own. Thanks to cognitive biases like confirmation bias , they might even appear to work. But what if a way to reduce exposure to COVID-19, and treat it, was hiding in our medicine cabinets all along — and it wasn’t pseudoscience? 

A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that neomycin, an ingredient in the first aid ointment Neosporin , may prevent or treat a range of respiratory viral infections such as COVID-19 and influenza when applied to the nose. 

In the study, researchers found that mice who had neomycin in their nostrils exhibited strong antiviral activity against both SARS-CoV- 2 and a highly virulent strain of influenza A virus. It also mitigated contact transmission of SARS-CoV- 2 between hamsters. 

"When we compared the gene expression in the nose, Neosporin stimulated genes whereas those people who had Vaseline did not."

“We decided to see if neomycin applied into the nose can protect animals from infection with COVID as well as the flu,” Dr. Akiko Iwasaki , the lead author of the study and a professor of immunobiology at the Yale University School of Medicine, told Salon in a phone interview. “And what we found is that treatment with neomycin significantly prevented infection and also reduced disease burden in animals.”

Iwasaki described the work as “encouraging” because it shows that neomycin can trigger an antiviral response in animals by creating a localized immune response. “That’s resulting in this protection that we see,” Iwasaki said. 

Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter Lab Notes .

The results are encouraging for mice and hamsters. But what about humans? The researchers proceeded to recruit healthy volunteers and asked them to apply Neosporin with a cotton swab to their nose, twice a day. The placebo for some was vaseline. The researchers measured their antiviral response and found similar results.

“When we compared the gene expression in the nose, Neosporin stimulated genes whereas those people who had Vaseline did not,” Iwasaki said.  “So this suggests that we might be able to use Neosporin or neomycin in humans to induce this antiviral state that we also saw in animals.”

Does that mean we should all be applying Neosporin to our noses in high-risk situations? Not exactly, but it probably wouldn’t hurt either — as long as someone isn’t allergic to the cream, which is a combination of the antibiotics bacitracin, neomycin and polymyxin B. Notably, details around the dosage remain unclear. 

“We know from the dose response that we did in animals that we probably need to give humans more Neosporin, or neomycin,” she said. “Because Neosporin has very little neomycin compared to what we were able to achieve in the animal model.”

"This could be a potential broad spectrum antiviral treatment and prophylaxis."

Iwasaki added they know that Neosporin can produce a similar effect in humans as it did in animals, but whether or not it can reduce transmission has yet to be determined. 

“For that, we need different kinds of study and a much larger study to determine that,” she said. 

Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center and infectious disease doctor who wasn’t involved in the study, told Salon via email that the research could have broader implications that extend beyond COVID-19. 

“This could be a potential broad spectrum antiviral treatment and prophylaxis,”Adalja said. “The molecules in the topical antibiotic cream induce certain antiviral compounds to be made by cells where the ointment has been applied; these antiviral compounds produce non-specific immunity that impacts various viruses.”

Iwasaki cautioned against the idea that people swabbing their noses with Neosporin will be a cure-all in the future. Instead, she said she sees this as another possible layer of protection . 

We need your help to stay independent

“We know how important it is to layer protection against infections,” Iwasaki said. “Vaccines and masks and other measures are very important, but this type of strategy where we can trigger the host to produce antiviral factors may be another layer that we can add on to the existing ones.”

The more layers a person has, Iwasaki said, the less likely a person is to get infected. 

“And that's really important for preventing diseases like long COVID,” Iwasaki said, referring to a condition in which COVID symptoms last for months or even years . “So I think it's definitely worth kind of moving forward with an approach like this.”

An approach that was right under our noses all this time.

about COVID

• Do COVID-19 vaccines really have worse side effects than other vaccines? Here's what experts say
• Infectious desire: How the pandemic is still negatively impacting our sex lives
• Does your immune system need a workout? The bad science behind "immunity debt," explained

Nicole Karlis is a senior writer at Salon, specializing in health and science. Tweet her @nicolekarlis .

Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Related articles.