Neem Tree (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) as Source of Bioinsectides

Abstract

Micro vs. macro competing for lifeMicroorganims are difficult to find and to kill, because they are in enormous number and everywhere. For instance, in our body we can count more procariotic than eucariotic cells. Fortunately, most of them are useful friends, but others can be very dangerous and destructives. Actually, microorganisms are liable of major plagues affecting humans. These invisible our competitors act infections by complicated mechanisms, often involving other creatures. Mosquitos are the favorite partners as major vector of transmission. Therefore, mosquitos are co-responsible of malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, filariasis, schistosomiasis, Japanese encephalitis, Chagas morbus, hemorrhagic fever, arbovirosis, as well as of several minor pathologies, such as systemic allergic and inflammatory reactions and dolorous bites. Although in developed countries the impact of these pathologies is nowadays restricted or absent, and main causes of death are related to physiological aspects (cancer, hearth and www.intechopen.com Insecticides -Advances in Integrated Pest Management 412 coronary failures, ecc.), in the remaining predominant part of the world, the alert is always the same and means infection by injure or by bite. Practically all mankind living in ordinary conditions is continuously exposed to one or more mosquito-borne or connected diseases and suffer in different degrees the effects of the mosquitos attack. Only dengue worldwide threatens the health of around 2.5 billion people, and figures for malaria are surely worst. Malaria infects more than 500 million humans each year. About 90% of cases occur in Africa, including those of malaria-related deaths, but only in India 15 million cases and 20,000 deaths are estimated annually by WHO. However, as all living beings, also microorganisms have their own Achilles heel. Their movement capacity is very limited, therefore they use animals as vectors for efficiently diffusing in every habitats. Usually, they change to adapt to the host, accumulating therein and becoming vulnerable. Therefore, the option seems to be simple: kill the vector and kill the microorganism. Fighting the vectorSeveral strategies have been proposed against microorganism/mosquito based diseases in order to control or at least limit mosquitos invasion, mainly based on three types of action: direct, environmental, indirect. Direct methods use as target the adults, whereas indirect methods are mainly focused on effects on mosquito development, including controls of larvae by hormones or other growth regulators. Environmental methods are based on change in the habitat of the insect and display severe collateral effects on other organisms. So far, mainly synthetic insecticides have been produced and used, in large quantities and types. Initial euphoria for the resolving effects has been punctually followed by negative drawback. Chemical pesticides resulted non-selective, that means harmful and toxic to other organisms including humans, plus the cause of a series of unexpected and dur...

Antimicrobial Activity of a Neem Cake Extract in a Broth Model Meat System

“…The identities of these substances must be determined. The quantitative results in main limonoids were (in ppm): azadirachtin A 79, nimbin 26, salannin 858, as already reported [30]. …”

The Antimicrobial Potential of the Neem Tree Azadirachta indica

“…Originally introduced around the world as a potent pesticide and fertilizer for use in agriculture ( Govindachari, 1992 ; Nicoletti et al, 2012 ; Chaudhary et al, 2017 ), neem has been recognized in more recent years as a safe and effective broad-spectrum antimicrobial with uses throughout the food industry that range from food production and storage to packaging and human consumption. During meat production, the presence of several species of bacteria can affect the quality and safety of the product, including Campylobacter , Lactobacillus , and Carnobacterium spp.…”

Validation of phytochemicals, antioxidant activity and characterization of green synthesized iron nanoparticles: A comparison

“…Neem oil is the key product that is obtained from various parts in varied concentrations like fruits (4.6%), seed (20%), kernel (18.5-52%) (Kumar and Parmar, 1998;Deka et al, 2021). Neem oil's prime constituents are limonoids from triterpenes groups from a diverse pool of about 300 biologically active compounds (Nicoletti et al, 2012;Chandramohan et al, 2016;Gupta et al, 2017;Ferreira and Alves, 2021). Azadirachtin is the first ingredient isolated from neem seeds by Butterworth and Morgan in 1968 that showed tremendous effectivity against pests.…”