日本語版

Siamese neem tree

organism / organism-azadirachta-indica-siamensis

サダオ / Siamese neem / Azadirachta indica var. siamensis

Thai neem (sadao). Young leaves and inflorescences are eaten as bitter vegetables.

Photographs (captions in Japanese)

A bundle of wet, glossy green young leaves and clusters of tiny granular flower buds lying with reddish-brown woody stems. The base of the stems is bound with a rubber band.

Young branches and leaves of sadao (Azadirachta indica, Thai Siamese neem). Clusters of fine green flower buds and young leaves are shown bundled at the base of a woody stem. The source page says "neem tree shoots, margosa shoots (Azadirachta indica)" and classifies it under "Leaf vegetables in Thailand".

Shown: Azadirachta indicaPart / state: Young branches and leaves just after harvest. Clusters of small green flower buds and young leaves bundled together on a woody stem

Photo: Susan Slater / CC BY-SA 4.0 / original image / ledger's original image

Scope and provenance of the photo

Identification: Identified as labelled in the source. The source page gives the scientific species name as Azadirachta indica and does not state the variety name siamensis, but from the category "Leaf vegetables in Thailand" it appears to be a plant treated as Thai sadao. Re-identification by a specialist has not been done.

Image shown: The full-size version from Wikimedia Commons. No cropping or color changes by NIGAMI LAB. For display, a WebP capped at 1200 px wide is served; the ledger's original image can be checked from the link above.

On this page (9 sections)
  1. Overview
  2. Sources for this overview (3)
  3. Topic hubs
  4. Other names
  5. Follow the connections
  6. Related entries (10)
  7. Composition and content (3)
  8. How processing and cooking change it (1)
  9. Culture (2)
↑

Reading the bitterness

Thai neem (Azadirachta indica var. siamensis) is a tree called sadao in Thailand. Young shoots, young inflorescences, and young leaves are eaten. An article on a government-affiliated site lists young shoots and inflorescences together as edible parts. Separately, a paper on antioxidant tests of Thai neem states that it supports the ethnomedical use of young leaves and flowers as a "vegetable bitter tonic" (the English term used in the paper's conclusion).

A Thai research paper introduces neem flowers as one of the vegetables commonly consumed in Thailand, alongside fruits of Thai and Chinese bitter gourd and sweet basil leaves. This is background to a paper on an enzyme assay, however, not a study of food culture itself. The use as a "vegetable bitter tonic" likewise records a traditional use; the action described as health-promoting itself has not been confirmed in a human trial.

Sources for this overview

  1. 10 สมุนไพร ที่ปลูกทานเองที่สวนหลังบ้าน

    Surin Provincial Agriculture and Cooperatives Office / 2020 / government document / full text checked

    Checked for this overview: Confirmed the description of young shoots and young inflorescences as edible parts.

  2. Antioxidant activity of Siamese neem tree (VP1209)

    Sithisarn P; Supabphol R; Gritsanapan W / 2005 / journal article / abstract checked

    Checked for this overview: Confirmed the ethnomedical description of young leaves and flowers used as a bitter tonic.

  3. Effects of neem flowers, Thai and Chinese bitter gourd fruits and sweet basil leaves on hepatic monooxygenases and glutathione S-transferase activities, and in vitro metabolic activation of chemical carcinogens in rats

    Kusamran WR; Ratanavila A; Tepsuwan A / 1998 / journal article / abstract checked

    Checked for this overview: Confirmed the background description of neem flowers as a commonly eaten vegetable in Thailand.

Other names: sadao (th-Latn), สะเดา (th), SADAO (th-Latn)

Follow the connections

neem young shoots →is prepared from→ Siamese neem tree

neem flowers →is prepared from→ Siamese neem tree

neem leaves →is prepared from→ Siamese neem tree

Structured claims — open a section to read each claim's confidence, evidence and limits

Composition and content (3)

neem young shoots is prepared from Siamese neem treesupported

Scope: Edible young shoots of Thai sadao

Young shoots and young inflorescences of sadao are listed as edible parts.
Limitations: A reproduction of the original article, not an identification report based on plant specimens.
Source: 10 สมุนไพร ที่ปลูกทานเองที่สวนหลังบ้าน (Surin Provincial Agriculture and Cooperatives Office, 2020) · full text checked
Show dataingredient-neem-young-shoots —is_prepared_from→ organism-azadirachta-indica-siamensis
claim: clm-neem-shoots-from-siamese-neem / type: taxonomy / updated: 2026-08-31
neem flowers is prepared from Siamese neem treesupported

Scope: Young inflorescences of Thai sadao.

Note: The inflorescences are not treated as the same plant part as the leaves or young shoots.

Young inflorescences are listed as a plant part eaten together with young shoots.
Limitations: The scope of regional variation and botanical varieties is not given.
Source: 10 สมุนไพร ที่ปลูกทานเองที่สวนหลังบ้าน (Surin Provincial Agriculture and Cooperatives Office, 2020) · full text checked
Show dataingredient-neem-flowers —is_prepared_from→ organism-azadirachta-indica-siamensis
claim: clm-neem-flowers-from-siamese-neem / type: taxonomy / updated: 2026-08-31
neem leaves is prepared from Siamese neem treesupported

Scope: Young leaves of Thai neem

Note: The plant part is linked through existing ethnomedical contextual material.

An ethnomedical description states that young leaves and flowers of Thai neem are used as a vegetable bitter tonic.
Limitations: This is background to a phytochemical study, not a culinary survey.
Source: Antioxidant activity of Siamese neem tree (VP1209) (Sithisarn P; Supabphol R; Gritsanapan W, 2005) · abstract checked
Show dataingredient-neem-leaves —is_prepared_from→ organism-azadirachta-indica-siamensis
claim: clm-neem-leaves-from-siamese-neem / type: taxonomy / updated: 2026-08-31

How processing and cooking change it (1)

Siamese neem treeOne of the vegetables commonly consumed in Thailand (neem inflorescences). is eaten in these forms: supported

Scope: Thailand.

The paper explicitly states, as background for its study, 4 vegetables commonly consumed in Thailand, namely the flowers of the neem tree (Azadirachta indica var. siamensis), the fruits of Thai and Chinese bitter gourd, and others.
Limitations: The paper itself is a rat enzyme study, not a survey of food culture.
Source: Effects of neem flowers, Thai and Chinese bitter gourd fruits and sweet basil leaves on hepatic monooxygenases and glutathione S-transferase activities, and in vitro metabolic activation of chemical carcinogens in rats (Kusamran WR; Ratanavila A; Tepsuwan A, 1998) · abstract checked
Show dataorganism-azadirachta-indica-siamensis —is_eaten_as→ (the claim sentence above)
claim: clm-sadao-vegetable / type: culinary / updated: 2026-08-31

Culture (2)

Siamese neem tree is used as An ethnomedical use of eating young leaves and flowers as a "vegetable bitter tonic" (the term used in the conclusion of an antioxidant-testing paper).contextual

Scope: Thailand.

Note: Does not assert clinical evidence for any health-promoting effect itself.

The paper states that this report supports the ethnomedical use of the young leaves and flowers of this plant as a vegetable "bitter tonic" to promote good health.
Limitations: The effect of the "bitter tonic" itself was not shown in human trials.
Source: Antioxidant activity of Siamese neem tree (VP1209) (Sithisarn P; Supabphol R; Gritsanapan W, 2005) · abstract checked
Show dataorganism-azadirachta-indica-siamensis —is_used_as→ (the claim sentence above)
claim: clm-sadao-bitter-tonic / type: cultural / updated: 2026-08-31
Siamese neem tree is documented as part of One of the vegetables on the Thai folk taste category 「รสขม（苦味）」 (in translation: "bitter taste (bitterness)") list in an HRDI article.contextual

Scope: A general-audience article from the Highland Research and Development Institute (HRDI).

Note: The list does not identify chemical bitter compounds; it includes folk accounts of medicinal action (บำรุงโลหิต เจริญอาหาร ช่วยระบาย; in translation: "nourishing the blood, stimulating appetite, and helping bowel movements").

Context: รสขม มีสรรพคุณทางยา คือ บำรุงโลหิต เจริญอาหาร ช่วยระบาย เช่น มะระขี้นก มะแว้งต้น ลิงลาว ยอดหวาย ดอกขี้เหล็ก ใบยอ สะเดา เพกา มะขม (in translation: "The source attributes medicinal properties to bitter taste: nourishing the blood, stimulating appetite, and helping bowel movements. Examples include mara khi nok [มะระขี้นก], ma waeng ton [มะแว้งต้น], ling lao [ลิงลาว], rattan shoots [ยอดหวาย], khi lek flowers [ดอกขี้เหล็ก], noni leaves [ใบยอ], sadao [สะเดา], peka [เพกา], and ma khom [มะขม].")
Limitations: A list accompanied by folk accounts of medicinal action, not a chemical identification of bitter compounds.
Source: ผักพื้นบ้าน...อาหารเป็นยา...รักษาสุขภาพ (สถาบันวิจัยและพัฒนาพื้นที่สูง (องค์การมหาชน)) · full text checked
Show dataorganism-azadirachta-indica-siamensis —is_documented_as_part_of→ (the claim sentence above)
claim: clm-sadao-hrdi-bitter-category / type: cultural / updated: 2026-09-01

↑ Top of page · ← Encyclopedia (English entries)