Keen on neem?

Neem [Azadirachta indica A. Juss] is a tree of the mahogany family.  Various claims have been made for its health-giving properties.  As the Abha Light organisation seems keen on neem as an anti-malarial, I decided to do a brief review of the literature.  What follows is a commentary based on searching PubMed for ‘neem and malaria’, and doing some additional searches.

I don’t claim that this is exhaustive and I have not been able to locate any information on some of the papers cited^*.  For articles behind paywalls, I have only been able to consult the abstract.

A Review

One of the first things that I look for, when I’m researching a new topic, is a review article.  A recent publication by Anyaehie (2009) seemed to provide a good starting point.

Deluded and Dangerous

I recently stumbled across a paper describing the work of the Abha Light organisation – a group of particularly dangerous homeopaths treating malaria in Kenya with homeopathy, and disparaging proper medicine for good measure.

It should go without saying that malaria is a serious, potentially fatal, disease that should not be treated with untested remedies – especially the sugar pills and magic water of homeopathy.  So committed are the homeopaths of Abha Light that they believe that their magic works and that it is superior to proven medicines.

These themes shine through the paper presented by Didi Ananda Ruchira at the Cuban Nosodes 2008 International Conference, entitled, “The Use of Homeopathic Prophylaxis and Treatment For Malaria in Endemic Areas Of Kenya: Part 2“.  It provides some alarming insights into the surreal world of Abha Light.