Characterization and application of dried neem leaf powder as a bio-additive for salt less animal skin preservation for tanneries.

Sodium chloride (NaCl) is commonly used as a curing/preservative agent for raw hides and skins in tanneries and is removed through a soaking process with total dissolved solids (TDS) and other organic pollutants in effluent, causing significant pollution load to the environment. Hence, the present study evaluated to apply dried neem leaf powder (DNL) as an additive to reduce the usage of salt in skin processing and preservation. To make certain of DNL antimicrobial properties, solvent extracts were performed against proteolytic bacteria isolated from raw skins.