PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING OF GEMMOTHERAPEUTICALLY TREATED NEEM an‎d NATIVE NEEM: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY TO DETERMINE THEIR POTENTIAL MEDICINAL ROLE

Background and Objectives: Neem belongs to the plant family “Maliace”. It is used in herbal medicine for the treatment of various diseases. The objective of this study was to perform phytochemical screening and determine the biological activities of Gemmotherapeutically Treated Neem Extract (GTNE) and Native Neem Extract (NNE) and evaluate their potential medicinal use.Methodology: Gemmotherapeutically treated neem extract (GTNE) and native neem extracts (NNE) were investigated for their chemical constituents and biological activities. Results: Different phytoconstituents like glycosides, flavonoids, tannins, steroids, alkaloids and saponins were found to be present in GTNE and NNE, while anthraquinones were not detected. Both extracts showed strong inhibitory activities against S. aureus, Bacillus subtillus, E. coli, Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans. Both extracts also showed some inhibitory effect against earth – worm. Conclusions: Biologically active ingredients of both GTNE and NNE show antibacterial and antifungal effects, suggesting the potential medicinal role of these substances which should be studied and explored further.