Food: flowers, shoots / Insecticide/pesticide: leaves, seed oil / Cosmetics: seed oil / Fibre: bark
Tannin: bark / Extract: resin / Medicine: bark / Fertiliser: leaves / Fodder: leaves
Azadirachta indica A. Juss. var. siamensis Valh.
¢ö´¡½À©ö¾
Synonyms: Azadirachta siamensis; Melia azadirachta L.; Melia indica (A. Juss.) Brandis
Family: MELIACEAE
Other names: Local names: phak khom kha dao, ka-dao, kwinin, mak tong. Thai: khwinin, sadao,
saliam, kadao, cha tang. Vietnamese: sau dau, cot anh, xoan dao. Burmese: tamarkha, thinboro,
tamar. Cambodian: sdau, salien. Chinese: gan lian shu. English: Neem, Nim, Indian lilac, margosa tree,
White Cedar, Cornucopia, Indian lilac, Margosa tree.
Remark: var. indica is not native but sometimes planted.
Use: Phak khom kadao is in Laos valued mainly for its
flowers, which are eaten with laap, a Lao mince dish, also
young bitter leaves are eaten. Leaves and seeds contain
an oil which is very successfully used as an insecticide
and pesticide but are also anti diabetic. The oil in leaves
prevents around 300 insect species from defoliation
without affecting beneficial pollinating insects like
honeybees. It is believed an endemic tree to Myanmar
and India and is referred to cure 1,000 diseases. After
some processing it is used for the production of soap,
toothpaste, lubricants and cosmetics. The bark contains
tannins, fibers for rope making and resin to make glue.
Bark is also medicinally used, anti-malarial, and leaves
are used as mulch and green manure, and sometimes as
a fodder for cattle.
home.hiroshima-u.ac.jp
Active ingredients: Oil contains azadirachtin, mainly in seeds and some in leaves. Bark contains a
bitter amorphous resin, a crystalline bitter alkaloid (margosine) and tannin. Nimbolide, a bitter principle,
may be responsible in the treatment of malaria.
Harvesting: Fruits are harvested within a period of 6-8 weeks. Leaves are collected at any time.
Yield, densities: About 10-30 kg of fruits can be obtained from a single tree. It has been estimated that
5 tonnes of kernels potentially yield of 1 tonne of oil.
Access rules: Natural and domesticated.
Sustainability: Regeneration may be hampered if no fruits are
available.
Conservation status: Category C.
Processing: Fruits are immediately depulped and the stones (for oil
extraction) dried in shade and stored in a cool and dry place. Neem oil
is extracted from neem kernels, which contain up to 50 percent oil by
weight.
Quality criteria:
www.keele.ac.uk
Marketing: Locally used and sold. Internationally is limited to small
quantities of leaves imported in the USA to manifacture pesticides. Neem oil is valued at US$700/tonne
(1990). In India 18,000 tonnes of neem seed is used to produce soap, requiring 7.2 million trees!
Market prospects: Plantations and the development of small scale industries hold a high potential in
rural and urban development. Possibilities are good for reforestation of depleted soil, firewood
production, source of valuable oil, safe pesticides, very promising for Lao P.D.R.
Propagation: In many countries it is considered a very valuable multi-purpose tree suitable for
plantations and in agro-forestry systems. In Lao PDR and Thailand kept in paddy fields. It is also
planted as an ornamental and to prevent soil erosion. Normally propagated by seed, but can be
vegetatively by air layering, cuttings of roots and shoots and grafting. Pollarding is also possible, as it
coppices well.
Description: Mai khom kadao is a medium-sized tree with a short, straight bole. The stem branches
upwards at 2-5 m forming a broad, dense, round or oval crown. Total height is 15-25 m with a DBH up
to 1 m. Bark is thick, roughly cracked, grey. Young leaves have reddish colour. Leaves are compound
to 24 cm long, with 6-7 paired, lanceolate, dentate leaflets, 6-8 by 2-3 cm. Inflorescence of panicles,
axillary. Flowers 5-6 mm long, white and fragrant. Trees produce many flowers, starting at 3-5 years,
and become fully productive at 10-12 years. The fruit is a drupe with 1 seed and juicy fruit pulp. Seeds
are recalcitrant, and cannot be stored and should be planted as soon as possible.
Distribution & Ecology: It is a fairly fast growing semi-evergreen tree occurring in deciduous and open
evergreen forests, open areas and foothills. Prominent in the central and southern parts of the country.
Khom kadao is often mixed with Dipterocarpus intricatus (mai sa baeng), Xylia xylocarpa (mai deng)
and Shorea siamensis (mai hang). It is tolerant to very hot conditions, drought and a long dry season.
Trees are not very demanding and can grow on a variety of soils. Insects, such as bees, pollinate the
flowers and the fruits are dispersed by birds and bats. grows naturally in dry forest areas throughout all
of south and Southeast Asia, including Assam, Myanmar, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand,
Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia.
References: SM13, ACS02, PMT90, NVPL59, ARCBC, TFM, FGFTNT00, PROSEA, PMC, BKF, TPN,
BPC, GMR, MPV93, IQB95, UIPAC.