Discipline: Biological Sciences
Subcategory: Plant Research
Cybrena Nonetta Sablon - Bowie State University
Azadirachta indica is a medicinal tree in the mahogany family, native to southern Asia. It is often confused with a close relative, Melia azedarach. There are a lot of literature reports on the benefits of A. indicia, Neem. This plant has been regarded as ‘village dispensary ‘ in Kenya, where it has a local name, ‘Mwarubaine’ which means forty (40) because it is believed to manage forty disease conditions. The importance of the Neem tree has been recognized by the US National Academy of Sciences, which published a report in 1992 entitled, Neem: a tree for solving global problems. This research project was focused on finding distinguishing chemical differences and similarities between the species. This was done to help clarify the confusion between both plants by highlighting the chemical differences that set them apart. With the utilization of High-Pressure Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) chemical differences and similarities of both plants can be visually observed. The differing bands show that there are chemical differences in the leaves. These differences are shown in the absence and presence of bands in different samples, as well as color differences in the bands.
Not SubmittedFunder Acknowledgement(s): National Science Foundation
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anne OSano, asano@bowiestate.edu
Role: All of it.