Relatively new scientific findings indicate that neem may even be useful for reducing anxiety and stress. An experiment was done on test animals to see what, if any effect neem leaf extract had on these conditions. Fresh leaves were crushed and the liquid squeezed out to produce a leaf extract. The extract was given orally to three main sets of animals, in two standard stress tests.
One group received salt water as a base control; another received Valium; another received the neem leaf extract. The third group was subdivided into sets that received ever larger doses. In the elevated plus maze test, doses of neem leaf extract upto 200 mg/kg showed important anti-anxiety activity equal to or greater than Valium. The test doses of neem leaf extract up to 100 mg/kg were equal to Valium in their anti-anxiety effect. At 800 mg/kg the effects of the neem totally disappeared. Neem extracts apparently only work in small doses for this application.
The explanation of neem’s anti-anxiety effect may be its ability to increase the amount of serotonin in the brain. Because it works well in small amounts, it could be safer than drugs currently used for stress, which may cause many side effects.