Neem

Uses

The tender shoots and flowers of the neem tree are eaten as a vegetable in India. A souplike dish called Veppampoo Rasam (Tamil) (translated as "neem flower rasam") made of the flower of neem is prepared in Tamil Nadu. In West Bengal, young neem leaves are fried in oil with tiny pieces ofeggplant (brinjal). The dish is called nim begun and is the first item during a Bengali meal that acts as an appetizer.^[1] It is eaten with rice.

Neem is used in parts of mainland Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia, Laos (where it is called kadao), Thailand (where it is known as sadao orsdao), Myanmar (where it is known as tamar) and Vietnam (where it is known as s?u dâu and is used to cook the salad g?i s?u dâu). Even lightly cooked, the flavour is quite bitter and the food is not enjoyed by all inhabitants of these nations, though it is believed to be good for one's health. Neem gum is a rich source of protein. In Myanmar, young neem leaves and flower buds are boiled with tamarind fruit to soften its bitterness and eaten as a vegetable. Pickled neem leaves are also eaten with tomato and fish paste sauce in Myanmar.

In India, the plant is variously known as "Sacred Tree," "Heal All," "Nature's Drugstore," "Village Pharmacy" and "Panacea for all diseases". Products made from neem trees have been used in India for over two millennia for their medicinal properties: neem products are believed to be anthelmintic, antifungal, antidiabetic, antibacterial, antiviral, contraceptive and sedative.^{[2][unreliable source?]} It is considered a major component in Ayurvedic and Unani medicine and is particularly prescribed for skin disease.^[3] Neem oil is also used for healthy hair, to improve liver function, detoxify the blood, and balance blood sugar levels, and is considered to have no side effects.^[4]

There has been reports that Neem oil can cause some form of toxic encephalopathy and ophthalmopathy if consumed in large quantities. ^[5]

Pest and disease control Neem is a key ingredient in non-pesticidal management (NPM), providing a natural alternative to synthetic pesticides. Neem seeds are ground into a powder that is soaked overnight in water and sprayed onto the crop. To be effective, it is necessary to apply repeatedly, at least every ten days. Neem does not directly kill insects on the crop. It acts as an anti-feedant, repellent, and egg-laying deterrent, protecting the crop from damage. The insects starve and die within a few days. Neem also suppresses the hatching of pest insects from their eggs. Neem cake is often sold as a fertilizer.^[6]

• Neem oil is used for preparing cosmetics such as soap, neem shampoo, balms and creams as well as toothpaste.
• The stem of neem is used as a toothbrush and is called datun.
• Besides its use in traditional Indian medicine, the neem tree is of great importance for its anti-desertification properties and possibly as a good carbon dioxide sink.^{[citation needed]}
• Practitioners of traditional Indian medicine recommend that patients with chicken pox sleep on neem leaves.^{[citation needed]}
• Neem gum is used as a bulking agent and for the preparation of special purpose food.
• Traditionally, slender neem branches have been chewed to clean one's teeth. Neem twigs are still collected and sold in markets for this use, and in rural India one often sees youngsters in the streets chewing on neem twigs.
• Neem blossoms are used in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to prepare Ugadi pachhadi. "Bevina hoovina gojju" (a type of curry prepared with neem blossoms) is common in Karnataka throughout the year. Dried blossoms are used when fresh blossoms are not available. In Tamil Nadu, a rasam (veppam poo rasam) made with neem blossoms is a culinary specialty.
• A mixture of neem flowers and bella (jaggery or unrefined brown sugar) is prepared and offered to friends and relatives, symbolic of sweet and bitter events in the upcoming new year.
• Cosmetics : Neem is perceived in India as a beauty aid. Powdered leaves are a major component of at least one widely used facial cream. Purified neem oil is also used in nail polish & other cosmetics.
• Bird repellent:Neem leaf boiled water can be used as a very cost effective bird repellent measure,especially for sparrow.
• Lubricants : Neem oil is non drying and it resists degradation better than most vegetable oils. In rural India, it is commonly used to grease cart wheels.
• Fertilizers : Neem has demonstrated considerable potential as a fertilizer. Neem cake is widely used to fertilize cash crops particularly sugarcane & vegetables. Ploughed into the soil, it protects plant roots from nematodes & white ants, probably due to its contents of the residual limonoids. In Karnataka, people grow the tree mainly for its green leaves & twigs, which they puddle into flooded rice fields before the rice seedlings are transplanted.
• Resin : An exudate can be tapped from the trunk by wounding the bark. This high protein material is not a substitute for polysaccharide gum, such as gum arabic. It may however, have a potential as a food additive, and it is widely used in South Asia as "Neem glue".
• Bark : Neem bark contains 14% tannin, an amount similar to that in conventional tannin yielding trees (such as Acacia decurrens). Moreover, it yields a strong, coarse fibre commonly woven into ropes in the villages of India.
• Honey : In parts of Asia neem honey commands premium prices & people promote apiculture / apiary by planting neem trees.
• Soap : India's supply of neem oil is now used mostly by soap manufacturers. Although much of it goes to small scale speciality soaps, large scale producers also use it, mainly because it is cheap. Generally, the crude oil is used to produce coarse laundry soaps.