You can source a broad range of dried herbs and botanicals from India. They fall into two groups: culinary herbs used in food, and medicinal or Ayurvedic botanicals used in teas, supplements and herbal products.
Most are sold as whole leaf, cut-and-sift or powder. Many are also available as extracts. What is available in volume, and at what quality, depends on the plant, the season and the region.
Culinary herbs and leaves
These are bought mainly by spice packers, food manufacturers and seasoning blenders. Colour, aroma, cleanliness and microbiology matter most.
- Dried fenugreek leaves, sold as kasuri methi, used in Indian cooking worldwide.
- Dried mint leaves, whole, crushed or powdered.
- Dried curry leaves and coriander leaves, used in seasonings and ready meals.
- Moringa leaf, sold as leaf, cut leaf and powder, used in both food and supplements.
- Dehydrated vegetable herbs such as onion and garlic, covered in our section on dehydrated products.
Ayurvedic and medicinal botanicals
India has a long tradition of Ayurvedic herbs, and many are grown or collected for export. These buyers care about botanical identity, active marker content, heavy metals, pesticide residues and microbiology.
- Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), mainly the root.
- Tulsi or holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum), mainly the leaf.
- Senna (Cassia angustifolia) leaves and pods.
- Amla or Indian gooseberry (Phyllanthus emblica) fruit, dried and powdered.
- Neem (Azadirachta indica) leaf, powder, seed and seed products.
- Psyllium husk, a Gujarat and Rajasthan crop, covered in its own section.
Where they come from
Herbs are grown across many states, so there is no single hub. Gujarat and Rajasthan are strong in seed crops and some leaves. Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are known for ashwagandha. Southern states grow much of the moringa and senna. Some botanicals are wild collected rather than farmed, which affects consistency and traceability.
Many sellers of herbs are traders who buy from collectors and small processors. Ask who dries, cleans, mills and packs the product, and visit that site. Our guide to telling a trader from a processor explains the checks.
What to settle before you buy
For quality risks across the category, see common quality issues with Indian herbs.
- The exact botanical name and plant part, not just a common name.
- The form: whole leaf, cut-and-sift size or powder mesh.
- Marker or active content where it matters, and the test method.
- Limits for moisture, foreign matter, heavy metals, pesticide residues and microbiology.
- Whether the product must be organic, steam sterilised or certified for your market.
- The rules for your intended use. Food, supplements and medicines are regulated differently.
Volumes, seasons and lead times
Most herbs are seasonal. Leaves are usually cut in particular months and dried soon after, while roots are dug once a year. Stocks are held by processors and traders between harvests, so quality can drift as the season goes on.
Volumes are often smaller than for seed spices. A processor may specialise in a few herbs and buy the rest. Ask what the supplier dries and mills itself, how much it can supply in a season, and how long testing will take before shipment. Our guide to MOQ for herbs and botanicals covers typical order sizes.
How we help
We find the drying and milling units behind each herb, audit them and have samples tested at NABL-accredited labs before you commit. If you have a list of herbs to source, start with a free sourcing review.