Neem Extract: Is it Good To Kill Virus (Covid-19)?

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Ever since we first heard about the coronavirus in Jan 2020, we have been hearing thousands of things that is supposedly kill or get rid of the virus.

Of course mask and alcohol sanitizers were one of the things, but besides that there were lots of stunts people pull to 'kill' the virus. From drinking alcohol everyday, to eating 4000mg of vitamin C (like really what for. whatever thats not used is just going to get out from your body the same day via urine. really not necessary to take so much! you only need 1000mg!).

Then now there is this tag that one puts around the neck to get rid of the virus. Than the Indians belief 'rasam' kills virus, and the Chinese then believe the heat-y ginger will kill it.

Like seriously; Does all these things work? Well; we will never know:-(

Now heres a new thing in the market; NEEM. ok its not really new coz its been in there for centuries. But does it really work? Well lets take a look at the scientific fact. If you know me; i dont belief in hearsay; just hard proof using journals and clinical research; so lets take a look at that.

Back when i was working in the government hospital; whenever there was someone with chicken px; we would give the usual calamine lotion, anti histamine and some anti virus. Its quite common that one gets these 'cocktail' of drugs when they have chicken pox.

But then there was this older pharmacist that usually told the patients to shower with 'daun semambu'. Upon researching; turns out its Neem. and true enough; even my mom went finding for it when me and my sister got chicken pox.  which now makes me wonder; since its 'universally' known to treat 'chicken pox' thats by a virus; does it work the same way for coronavirus?

What Is Neem?

Neem is a type of tree with lots of leaf thats easily found in Asia and most abundantly in India. It's an antioxidant, and it's said to be from the 'tea tree oil' family. its been used for years for medicinal purposes and now; its widely used in Ayurvedic and Chinese herbs as a medicinal oil that kills bacteria and viruses.Its usually used for the treatment of several types of diseases including inflammation, infections, fever, skin diseases, and viral infections. Its antiviral activity has been reported for different viruses.

What Studies Were done Before Using Neem As Antiviral

Currently i could find few studies that were done using neem as antiviral 'medication'. One is of chicken pox, and the next was for hand foot mouth disease. There was also studies done on Herpes virus where it was shown that when using neem extract at 5%, it could block the virus activity; leading it to be deactivated!
Besides; it's also commonly used in dengue fever (another viral infection). For dengue; people usually drink the boiled leaf as tea.

What Does It Mean?

Its a really cool discovery really! as it means that when there is 5% of neem extract in the product; lets say if there was virus on surface; or even in your clothes, or food or hands, if you use this product with 5% neem; there is high possibility of the virus being de-activated!

Im so excited! really!

However;  I couldn't find any conclusive studies on Neem used on patients with 'SARS'. Since Sars and the covid 19 virus is similar; it may be a better comparison.

Is Neem Good For Coronavirus?

Currently i couldn't find any study that says it works for coronavirus. I feel that at this point; it may take years for it to show if it really works for Covid 19 since coronavirus-19 is fairly new.

However; since there was some positive evidence in the use of Neem for viral infected diseases like HFM disease, Herpes and chicken pox. So i feel that we should incorporate neem in our daily life.

Its not certain it would work or not; but similarly; using mask and alcohol sanitisers; we are uncertain of that too.

All we can do is just hope that it works. If it doesnt; the worst case scenario is that you probably will be using a strong antioxidant in your products . But hey; thats what vitamin C does:-) so no wastage there;-)

Should You Use Neem In Your Product?

My suggestion; if you are in trying out everything that 'kills' the coronavirus; then you most definately should add Neem into your products too. It may work; or may not work. However; looking at its profile and how its used tradiotaionaly in most viral diseases and its succesfull in solving it; i dont really think there is any harm in using neem in most of your product. Using it in your soap, or detergent will be a good way to get rid of the virus. Added with soap's amphoteric nature that is proven to kill the virus (click here to read that article); adding Neem oil will definately do more good than harm.

Recipe To Use Neem:

Solid Soap

1. 100g SoapLab's Handmade Natural Coconut Soap Base
2. 5g Neem Extract
3. 5g Scent/ Essential Oil Of Choice

Liquid Soap:

1. 100g SoapLab's Handmade Natural Coconut Liquid Soap Base
2. 5g Neem Extract
3. 5g Scent/ Essential Oil Of Choice

Lotion:

1. 100g SoapLab's Handmade Natural Jojoba Lotion
2. 5g Neem Extract
3. 2g Scent/ Essential Oil Of Choice

Veggie & Fruits Wash

1. 100g SoapLab's Handmade Natural Potassium Cocoate
2. 5g Neem Extract
3. 2g Scent/ Essential Oil Of Choice

Shampoo:

1. 100g SoapLab's Liquid Shampoo Base (Sulphate Free)
2. 5g Neem Extract
3. 3g Scent/ Essential Oil Of Choice

Conditioner

1. 100g SoapLab's Creamy Conditioner Base (Silicone Free)
2. 5g Neem Extract
3. 5g Scent/ Essential Oil Of Choice

Hope You find this article beneficial;

Good luck, and stay safe!

Love
Nisha.

Buy Neem Oil:

Reference:

1. Subapriya R, Nagini S (2005) Medicinal properties of neem leaves: a review. Curr Med Chem Anti Canc Agents 5, 149–56
2. Tiwari V, Darmani NA, Yue BYJT, Shukla D (2010) In vitro antiviral activity of neem (Azardirachta indica L.) bark extract against herpes simplex virus type-1 infection. Phytother Res 24, 1132–40.
3. Badam L, Joshi SP, Bedekar SS. ‘In vitro’ antiviral activity of neem (Azadirachta indica. A. Juss) leaf extract against group B coxackieviruses. J Cimmun Dis. 1999;31:79–90.
4. Parida MM, Upadhyay C, Pandya G, Jana AM. Inhbitrory potential of neem (Azadirachta indica Juss) leaves on dengue virus type-2 replciation. J Ethnopharmacol. 2002;79 (2):273–278.
5. Upadhyay SN, Dhawan S, Garg S, Wali N, Tusker L, Anderson DJ. Immunomodulatory properties of neem. World Neem Conference; Banglore, India. 1993. p. abstract no. 80.