!" 1Corresponding author #$% &’()’ & *+" ( ,#(&’ &(- $,( ./ 0!,’ 1 (2 (2/%( ,(2( ,!/( a Head and A.P. Dept. of Home Science, Bhilai Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Bhilai b Prof and Senior research officer, GB Panth uni. of research and tech., Pantnagar c Research scholar, Dept. of process and food Engg., College of tech., Pantanagar (1-(#- #34 "5 56" * 78 *+ 3* 9 7 * 78 : +9+ -94 9 :" 33" *7* 95 5 7: 3 13 87: 9 + 7" 4 37:4 7 *; 3* 34 "5 87: 9 97< 73 8 687 5 + ,3 =="+ 97 7"7 +7 97** 77 34 "8 >99> 7 34 739 7:*" <973 9 * 3 ?* *""4 739 : 96 7 "3 34 "5 73 "4 ,7 9 + 7 9 :3"93 "77; *4 9 < 8"4 7: 79 7 <94 9 < " "3 34 "8 4 + "" 73 9 -973+9 37:4 7 :75 9 * + "5 87: 9 < 3"4 3< 78 9"9 68 9 " < ?*"7+ 34 "8 9"9 68 6 9 73 "4 "8 04 @7: Nutraceutical Properties, Ingredient, Health Benefits. Curry leaves are a popular leaf’spice used in very small quantities for their distinct aroma due to the presence of volatile oil and their ability to improve digestion. “Let food be your medicine and let medicine be your food.” Herbal and natural products of folk medicine have been used for centuries in every culture throughout the world. Scientists and medical professionals have shown increased interest in this field as they recognize the true health benefits of these remedies. The important advantages claimed for therapeutic uses of medicinal plants in various ailments are their safety besides being economical, effective and their easy availability. Curry leaf (Murraya koenigii) is an important leafy vegetable. Its leaves are widely used in Indian cookery for flavouring foodstuffs. The leaves have a slightly pungent, bitter and feebly acidic taste, and they retain their flavour and other qualities even after drying. Curry leaf is also used in many of the Indian ayurvedic and unani prescriptions. /-!% !A #$% &’()’ The curry leaf tree is native to India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Andaman Islands. Later spread by Indian migrants, they now grow in other areas of the world where Indian immigrants settled. Widely cultivated, the leaves are particularly associated with South Indian cuisines. !+ Curry leaf trees are naturalised in forests and waste land throughout the Indian subcontinent except in the higher parts of the Himalayas. From the Ravi River in Pakistan its distribution extends eastwards towards Assam in India and Chittagong in Bangladesh, and southwards to Tamil Nadu in India. The plants were spread to Malaysia, South Africa and Réunion Island with South Asian immigrants. /74 The use of curry leaves as a flavouring for vegetables is described in early Tamil literature dating back to the 1st to 4th centuries AD. Its use is also mentioned a few centuries later in Kannada literature. Curry leaves are still closely associated with South India where the word 'curry' originates from the Tamil 'kari' for spiced sauces. An alternative name for curry leaf throughout India is kari’pattha. Today curry leaves are cultivated in India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, Australia, the Pacific Islands and in Africa as a food flavouring. #3"57 7""7 Flowering starts from the middle of April and ends in the middle of May. The peak flowering season under the Sanwara (H.P.) conditions was observed to be the last week of April. The fruiting season was observed to continue from the middle of July to the end of August. The peak fruiting