The Neem tree grows prolifically throughout South Asia, especially in Pakistan, Burma, India and Sri Lanka. Its medicinal properties have been known about for thousands of years and its uses are so varied that this tree is called the "Village Pharmacy" of South Asia.
Recently, there has been a growing interest from the international agro-chemical business over the potential of Neem as an organic alternative to industrial pesticides, BBC reported.
A large Neem tree usually stands in the centre of each village, providing shade and cool underneath its branches. It is said that the temperature under a Neem tree is always two or three degrees cooler than in any other shade.
The traditional uses of Neem are many and varied; when a child has a fever or chickenpox, Neem leaves are put on the bed.
For eczema, psoriasis, ulcers or any other skin problems, a paste of Neem bark or leaves is made up and applied directly to the skin.
When winter clothes are put away for the summer, Neem leaves are put between them to keep away moths, and its leaves are boiled to make a bitter drink to cure worms and diarrhea.
Animals eat Neem leaves as fodder in this desert climate where little else grows, and the seeds of the fruit are ground to make a natural pesticide.
Perhaps the most prolific use of the Neem tree is that it works as a natural antiseptic toothbrush.
People break off a small twig, peel off the bark and then chew it into a soft brush at one end, which they then rub around the gums and teeth.
The most valuable part of Neem for modern scientific research is the oil produced from pressing the Neem kernel.
Scientists call the active ingredient in this oil Azadirachtin - and the strength and quality of this is central to using Neem as a pesticide or fungicide.
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