GCMS profile of bioactive secondary metabolites with therapeutic potential in the ethanolic leaf extracts of Azadirachta indica : a sacred traditional medicinal plant of India

ABSTRACT

Neem (Azadirachta indica) a member of Meliaceae plays an immense role in human health and disease which is attributed to its composition of Bioactive Secondary Metabolites (BASM). It has been widely used in Indian Traditional Systems of Medicine that includes Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Homeopathy and other Folklore Systems of Medicine practiced in the Indian Subcontinent for the treatment and prevention of various diseases. Current global health perspectives and medical practice in the post COVID era has no other way but to seek to merge alternative systems of medicine with evidence-based therapeutic aspects for a better understanding of the metabolic process and its effects in the human body. The studies based on animal model established that neem and its chief constituents play pivotal role in anticancer management through the modulation of various molecular pathways including p53, pTEN, NF-B, PI3K/Akt, Bcl-2, and VEGF. Besides, NEEM plays a vital role in the management of diabetics and its associated long term complication through ROS scavenging and ameliorative potentials to restore oxidative injury/inhibit enzymes linked to. Overall NEEM is considered as GRAS medicinal plant that modulates metabolic inflammations without side effects. Though it has been confirmed that neem and its constituents play role in the scavenging of free radical and prevention of disease pathogenesis, a clear scientific basis of its pharmacoinformatics is still lacking. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis of the fractions revealed the presence of 62 metabolites.