Neem and Its Importance

Neem has also been called “Heal all”, “Divine Tree”, “Village Pharmacy” and even “Nature’s drugstore”. The ancient Indian found many therapeutic uses for the tree and also observed that the tree could survive in very dry and arid conditions. In due course of time, the name and fame of neem spread, not only in the remote areas of the Indian subcontinent but also in the adjoining countries in Asia, now known as Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Since ancient times, India has had cultural and commercial relations with the people of these countries. Whereas in folklore mainly the leaves and to some extent the oil was used in Ayurveda (the Indian system of medicine), Siddha (the system of medicine practiced in some parts of south India) and Unani Tibb (the Greco-Persian system of medicine), polyherbal preparations containing one, two or all five parts of the plant, i.e. leaves, bark, flower, fruit and root, called panchang in Ayurveda, were used. In the traditional systems of medicine, some of the preparations were for internal administration, while others such as nasal drops, medicated oils or fats were for external application.