Azadirachta Indica, I.C.A. Indian Azadirach.
Synonyms.—Neem Bark; Margosa Bark.
Indian azadirach is the dried stem bark of Melia Azadirachta, Linn. (N.O. Meliaceae), a tree indigenous to India, Ceylon, and the Malay Archipelago. The bark occurs in channelled, tough, fibrous pieces, attaining as much as 10 millimetres in thickness. Externally it is of a brownish-grey colour, and has a rough, scaly or fissured surface. Internally it is yellowish, conspicuously laminated, and coarsely fibrous. The transverse section is minutely chequered, pale narrow medullary rays and tangential bands of parenchyma alternating with darker groups of bast-fibres. Under the microscope the latter are seen to be surrounded by lignified parenchymatous cells.
Constituents.—The chief constituents of the bark are a bitter amorphous resin, a crystalline, bitter alkaloid (margosine), margosic acid, a crystalline substance, and tannin.
Action and Uses.—Indian azadirach is used as a simple bitter, in the same way as gentian or quassia, for which it is employed as an equivalent in India and the Eastern Colonies, being administered usually in the form of tincture or infusion.
PREPARATIONS.
- Infusum Azadirachtae Indicae, I.C.A.—INFUSION OF INDIAN AZADIRACH.
- Indian azadirach, finely rasped, 1; distilled water, cold, 100. Infusion of Indian azadirach is official in India and the Eastern Colonies, where it is used as a bitter. Dose.—2 to 4 mils (½ to 1 fluid drachm).
- Tinctura Azadirachtae Indicae, I.C.A.—TINCTURE OF INDIAN AZADIRACH.
- Indian azadirach, rasped, 10; alcohol (45 per cent.), 100. Tincture of Indian azadirach is official in India and the Eastern Colonies, where it is used as a bitter. Dose.—2 to 4 mils (½ to 1 fluid drachm).
