Neem leaf extract substantially increases the state of oxidation in red blood cells, preventing normal development of the malaria plasmodia (Etkin,1981).
An active ingredient in neem leaves, called Irodin A, is toxic to resistant strains of malaria, with 100 percent of the plasmodia dead in 72 hours with only a 1:20,000 ratio of active ingredients. (Abatan, 1986).
In other experiments alcoholic extracts of neem leaf performed almost as well as the more refined compounds. (Badam, 1987)
Malaria affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide and kills over two million people every year. It has even made an occasional appearance in North America due to introduction of new mosquito strains and travelers from malarial regions.
Malaria is transmitted from an infected person to a non-infected person by the bites of certain species of mosquito. The malarial gamete is sucked up from the infected person by the mosquito and
carried in its gut until the mosquito bites an uninfected person. The bite injects the gamete into the blood stream where it travels to the kidney to mature.
Neem can block the development of the gamete in an infected person. This
not only prevents the infected person from developing malaria but also stops
the disease from spreading. (Jones et al, 1994)
Two other compounds found in neem leaves called gedunin, a limonoid, and quercetin, a flavonoid, are at least as effective as quinine and chloroquine against malaria (Badam, 1987); (Ekanem, 1978); (Iwu, 1986); (Khalid, 1986, 1989); (Obasiki, 1986); (Rochanakij, 1985).
Another molecule, gedunin, an extract of neem bark, has also been found to be effective in treating malaria.(Khalid, 1989) Several studies show that neem extracts are effective even against chloroquine-resistant strains of the malaria parasite (Obih and Makinde, 1985); (Bray, et al, 1990).
The antimalarial effects of neem appear to be greater in the body than on a petri dish. This has led some to speculate that stimulation of the immune system is a major factor in neem's effectiveness against malaria.(Obasiki and Jegede-Fadunsin, 1986).
Neem also lowers the fever and increases the appetite thereby strengthening the body which aids in fighting the disease parasite and speeding recovery. (Abatan and Makinde, 1986).
Like the populations in malaria stricken areas who have access to neem some westerners familiar with neem often substitute an occasional neem leaf tea to drinking quinine on trips to malaria-infested areas of Africa and India as a preventive measure (Larson, 1993).
Drinking neem teas or simply chewing a couple of neem leaves a day reduces the possibility of contracting malaria.
Even though neem tea may be effective against malaria, a study done by Dr. Udeinya showed that water extracts are less effective than leaf extracts obtained by a water/acetone combination. (Udeinya, 1993)
