Curry leaves are the foliage of the curry tree (Murraya koenigii). This tree is native to India, and its leaves are used for both medicinal and culinary applications. They’re highly aromatic and have a unique flavor with notes of citrus.

Curry leaves are not the same as curry powder, though they’re often added to this popular spice mixture and popularly used in cooking to add flavor to dishes, such as curries, rice dishes, and dals.

Aside from being a versatile culinary herb, they offer an abundance of health benefits due to the powerful plant compounds they contain.

Risk factors like high cholesterol and triglyceride levels may increase your risk of developing heart disease. Adding curry leaves to your diet may help reduce some of these risk factors.

Research shows that consuming curry leaves may benefit heart health in several ways. For example, animal studies have found that curry leaf extract may help reduce high cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

A 2-week study in rats with high-fat-diet-induced obesity showed that oral treatment with 136 mg of curry leaf extract per pound (300 mg per kg) of body weight per day significantly lowered cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

These results were correlated with the high amount of an alkaloid called mahanimbine in the leaves.

In another 12-week study in mice on a high fat diet, mahanimbine prevented diet-induced complications, such as high blood lipids, fat accumulation, inflammation, and oxidative stress all of which may increase the risk of heart disease.

Other animal studies have also shown that curry leaf extract reduces cholesterol levels.

Although these findings are promising, research in humans is lacking. For this reason, more studies are needed to confirm this potential benefit of curry leaves.

Consuming curry leaves may benefit heart health by reducing heart disease risk factors, such as high cholesterol and triglyceride levels. However, more research is needed.