Once Mahatma Gandhi wanted to know the nutritive value of neem. The then Director of the National Institute of Nutrition, Coonoor undertook such a study and found out that in the green leaves of neem, there occurs a plenty of nutritive principles.
In both the raw and the cooked leaves as well as the young tender leaves, enough amount of protein, calcium, iron and vitamin A are found to be available.
In this way, leaves of neem are a better leafy vegetable than the much valued Amaranthus {chaula$ or coriander or even palakl The availability of vitamin A in neem is very significant. It is this Vitamin that has been found to be effective in curing night blindness, diverse types of eye diseases, diseases of the kidney and the urinary tract and those of the blood.