I had this email pretty much ready to go when a new report landed on my desk yesterday morning – one of the few “gold standard” clinical studies conducted on human beings with neem.
Published in the peer-reviewed Indian Journal of Dental Research, a team of periodontists looked at the effect of a 10% neem oil chip placed under the gum line after the standard mechanical scaling and root planning. The results were impressive: Clinical parameters showed statistical improvement and presence of P. gingivalis strains were significantly reduced on the neem chip sites.
The study took 20 otherwise healthy patients and used a split-mouth design to determine the impact on each site using a plaque index, gingival index, probing pocket depth and a bleeding index. All measurements were conducted at the time of the scaling, seven days later and then again 21 days later.
While exciting, it’s not necessarily going to become standard practice in the US. I’m not sure how they made the neem chip (and we don’t recommend using neem oil in your mouth) and it’s extremely expensive to obtain FDA approval for products that treat diseases.
Closer to something the average American can replicate, a study published in the Journal of the International Society for Preventive and Community Dentistry compared a toothbrush disinfectant made with neem, garlic and green tea with the disinfectant chlorhexidine and found that the herbal mixture worked just as well. (A previous study, published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, had shown similar results with a neem leaf extract on human teeth.)
And finally, for neem fans who are incredibly intelligent, this article from Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine takes a look at how the different compounds in neem act in the body. The link is to the full article, which starts off with basic knowledge, but quickly becomes an in-depth report on neem’s many uses.
Don’t forget our April specials – including a BOGO on Neem Bark Toothpowder. Keri also asked me to let you know that the rest of the backlog from this winter’s plant orders should ship next week (unless your location gets another surprise cold snap), so we’re back to our regular shipping schedule the week afterward.
Have a super Saturday!
Vicki & the Neem Team
877-500-6336
www.neemtreefarms.com