Health Benefits of Planting Babool

Health Benefits of Planting Babool

News: An article in DTE highlighted the benefits of planting an arid plant Babool.

About:
 Babool, also called Acacia arabica, belongs to the family Leguminosae. Babool is a spiny, medium-sized, perennial tree commonly found throughout India. The bark of the tree is known as Babur or Babul in Hindi. Today, it is widely known as Gum Arabic as it was imported in large quantities in Arab.
 India is home to at least three of nine subspecies of the tree, with natural babool forests found in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Karnataka.
 Historically in India, the bitter babool has been used as a famine food in arid and semi-arid regions like Rajasthan.
 Scientific name – Vachellia Nilotica

Benefits of Babool:
 The seeds of babool contain rich amounts of fibre and proteins. Its pods contain more fibre and have a lesser amount of protein as compared to the leaves
 Its seed oil can be an alternative to chemicals for controlling major farm pests.
 Its pods have Antibacterial properties and are effective against gram-positive bacteria. Its pods also act as a natural food preservative. Its pod extracts can replace synthetic food preservatives and inhibit microbial spoilage.
 Babool helps in the reclamation of degraded areas by fixing nitrogen and acting as a windbreak.
 Planting babool trees benefits biodiversity and helps combat desertification.