The bay leaf in your spice rack comes from the bay laurel, Laurus nobilis, an evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean region. Its Greek name, dáphnē, comes from the myth of the nymph Daphne, who was turned into a laurel tree. The tree also gave English the words poet laureate and baccalaureate.
“Bay leaf” is also the name of several other plants. Indian bay leaf, or tejpat (Cinnamomum tamala), Indonesian salam, West Indian bay, Mexican bay and California bay are all sold under it, and a quality-control study found that these substitutes taste and smell different from the real thing. The scent of true bay is mostly 1,8-cineole, also called eucalyptol, which made up 41 to 64% of the leaf oil in 15 samples bought in Turkey.
Fresh leaves are very mild, and the full flavor develops several weeks after picking and drying. A teaspoon of crumbled dried leaf (0.6 g) has 2 calories and about 0.2 g of fiber, so it flavors food more than it feeds you. The whole leaf stays stiff and sharp-edged after cooking and is taken out before serving, because case reports describe swallowed leaves lodged in the throat and gut.
Health benefits of bay leaf
The top findings from 12 studies, strongest evidence first
What the stars mean
- Strong. Several randomized trials, pooled in a meta-analysis, point the same way, or regulators (FDA or EFSA) have approved the claim.
- Moderate. Good randomized trials support it, but there are fewer of them, or their results vary.
- Limited. Small, short or single trials, or mixed results. Promising, but it needs confirmation.
Population and lab studies get no stars: they show a link or a mechanism, not proof.
How we rate evidence →- ★Lower blood sugar in type 2 diabetesIn 40 people with type 2 diabetes, 1 to 3 g of ground bay leaf a day lowered blood sugar by 21 to 26%. This was after 30 days, in capsules; it is the only such trial we found, and we found no repeat of it.
- ★Lower blood sugar soon after eatingIn 20 healthy people, cookies with 6% bay leaf powder lowered blood sugar 30 and 45 minutes after eating. The total rise over 2 hours did not change.
- ★A little higher “good” HDL cholesterolIn 30 healthy adults, tea from 5 g of bay leaves a day for 10 days raised HDL from 1.34 to 1.42. No comparison group is described.
- ★Lower stress hormone and stress scoresIn 30 healthy adults, bay leaf tea for 10 days lowered blood cortisol, a stress hormone, from 93.5 to 72.23 ng/mL. Stress and anxiety scores fell too, but with no comparison group the drop cannot be tied to the tea.
- Population studySwallowed leaves blocked the gut in case reportsCase reports describe a swallowed bay leaf blocking the esophagus or the duodenum and making a hole in a pouch of the small intestine. A case report shows that harm can happen, not how often.
All 12 studies, strongest evidence first
Cookies made with 6% bay leaf powder lowered blood sugar 30 and 45 minutes after eating, but not the total rise over 2 hours
Randomized crossover trial in 20 healthy people who ate plain cookies or cookies with 3% or 6% bay leaf powder by weight, each with 50 g of available carbohydrate. Only the 6% cookies differed from plain ones, and the area under the blood sugar curve over 2 hours did not differ among the three. Appetite did not change, and all cookies were rated acceptable with no stomach discomfort.
Tea from 5 g of bay leaves a day for 10 days raised HDL cholesterol a little, from 1.34 to 1.42, in healthy adults
Before-and-after study of 30 healthy volunteers aged 20 to 57 who drank an infusion of 5 g of dried leaves in 100 ml of water once a day. LDL cholesterol and triglycerides fell slightly, but not significantly, and no comparison group is described. That is about 8 teaspoons of crumbled leaf a day, far more than a meal holds.
Bay leaf tea for 10 days lowered blood cortisol from 93.5 to 72.23 ng/mL and scores on stress and anxiety scales in healthy adults
Before-and-after study with the same design as the lipid study above: 30 healthy volunteers aged 20 to 57 drinking 5 g of dried leaves in 100 ml of water a day. Scores on the PSS stress scale and the STAI anxiety scale also fell. With no comparison group described, the drop cannot be tied to the tea.
Capsules of 1 to 3 g of ground bay leaf a day for 30 days lowered blood glucose by 21 to 26% in people with type 2 diabetes
Trial in 40 people with type 2 diabetes, split into four groups that took capsules of 1, 2 or 3 g of ground bay leaf or a placebo. LDL cholesterol fell 32 to 40% and HDL rose in the 1 and 2 g groups, while the placebo group did not change. The doses equal roughly 2 to 5 teaspoons of crumbled leaf a day. It is the only trial of bay leaf in people with diabetes we found, and we found no repeat of it.
Two people had a swallowed bay leaf block the esophagus, in a case report
Case report of two people whose swallowed bay leaf caused an esophageal obstruction, with a review of how they were treated. A case report shows that harm can happen, not how often it does. The authors say this has rarely been reported.
A swallowed bay leaf blocked the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine, in a case report
Single case report of a duodenal obstruction caused by a bay leaf that became lodged. PubMed lists no abstract for this short report, so no further detail is given here. A 1990 report in the same journal described a bay leaf lodged in the esophagus and throat.
A swallowed bay leaf perforated a Meckel’s diverticulum, a pouch some people are born with in the small intestine, in a case report
Single case report from surgeons and a pathologist. PubMed lists no abstract for this short report, so no further detail is given here. A 1992 report likewise described a bay leaf perforating the small bowel in a patient with chronic pancreatitis.
A woman who drank bay leaf tea regularly developed liver injury that improved after she stopped
Case report of a 55-year-old woman with no liver disease and liver enzymes that kept rising (ALT 357 and AST 196 U/L). Other causes were ruled out and a liver biopsy pointed to toxic hepatitis. The authors rated bay leaf as a probable cause (a score of 8 on the RUCAM scale) and warn about large amounts or concentrated infusions. The abstract does not give how much she drank.
Rabbits fed dried bay leaf meal at 1 g per kg of feed had lower cholesterol, blood sugar and liver enzymes
Animal study in 120 growing rabbits fed normal feed or feed with added pig fat, with or without bay leaf meal. Bay leaf groups had lower total and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, ALT and AST, and higher HDL. Results in rabbits do not carry over to people.
Rats with induced colitis that ate 2 to 3% bay leaves had less colon swelling and more helpful gut bacteria
Animal study in rats given dextran sodium sulfate to cause colitis, then fed diets with 1, 2 or 3% bay leaves. The 2% and 3% diets lowered the colon-to-body weight ratio. The 3% diet raised Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus and butyric acid and lowered Clostridium. Rats are not people.
Water extract of bay leaf ranked among the most active of 49 plant extracts at boosting insulin-dependent glucose use in rat fat cells
Lab test on fat cells from rats. Cinnamon was the most active, followed by witch hazel, teas and allspice, with bay leaves next. The activity was lost when phenolic compounds were removed. The authors note that this kind of screen does not always predict effects in living bodies.
Compounds isolated from bay leaf lowered the rise in blood alcohol in rats given ethanol by mouth
Lab study that split bay leaf into parts and tested which ones lowered blood ethanol in rats. The active compounds were sesquiterpenes such as costunolide and dehydrocostus lactone, which did not change glucose absorption. These were isolated compounds, not the leaf you cook with.
Who should be careful with bay leaf
Most people can eat bay leaf freely. Take a little care if one of these applies:
- Whole leaves. They stay stiff and sharp-edged after cooking, and case reports describe whole leaves stuck in the esophagus and throat, blocking the duodenum and perforating the intestine. Such reports are rare, but the fix is easy: take the leaves out before serving, or use ground leaf or a tea infuser.
- Large amounts of tea. One case report links regular bay leaf tea to liver injury that improved after she stopped. We found no official daily limit for bay leaf tea, and one leaf in a pot of soup is far less than the 5 g a day used in the tea studies.
- Skin allergy. Case reports describe allergic skin reactions to bay leaf, including from a home remedy applied to the skin. Stop using it on the skin if it irritates.
How to choose, store and eat bay leaf
- Whole leaf: simmer it in soups, stews and braises and take it out before serving. The scent is stronger from crushed leaf than from whole leaf.
- Ground or crumbled: stronger than whole leaf and free of sharp pieces. The cookie trial used 3% and 6% bay leaf powder by weight, and people rated all the cookies acceptable.
- Tea: the tea trials steeped 5 g of dried leaves (about 8 teaspoons crumbled) in 100 ml of water. Boiling for about 3 minutes avoids bitterness.
Buy leaves sold as bay laurel or Laurus nobilis for the Mediterranean flavor, since other leaves are sold under the same name. Keep them in a tightly covered container in a dark place away from the stove, sink and other sources of heat and moisture; Texas A&M Extension gives 1 to 3 years for dried leafy herbs, and a strong aroma means they still work.
Sources
- Bay leaf. Wikipedia.
- Ahmed K, McCormick MS. Bay-leaf: an unusual oesophageal foreign body. J Laryngol Otol. 1993.
- Buto SK, Tsang TK, Sielaff GW, et al. Bay leaf impaction in the esophagus and hypopharynx. Ann Intern Med. 1990.
- Awerbuck DC, Briant TD, Wax MK. Bay leaf: an uncommon foreign body of the hypopharynx. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1994.
- Tsang TK, Flais MJ, Hsin G. Duodenal obstruction secondary to bay leaf impaction. Ann Intern Med. 1999.
- Lingenfelser T, Adams G, Solomons D, Marks IN. Bay leaf perforation of the small bowel in a patient with chronic calcific pancreatitis. J Clin Gastroenterol. 1992.
- Bell CD, Mustard RA. Bay leaf perforation of Meckel’s diverticulum. Can J Surg. 1997.
- Soare M, Călugăr-Șolea SF, Brisc C, et al. Herb-induced liver injury by Laurus nobilis: a case assessed for causality using the updated RUCAM. Life (Basel). 2026.
- Vassileva S, Darlenski R. Bay leaf phytodermatitis. Contact Dermatitis. 2021.
- Martínez-Fernández A, Sánchez-Herreros C, Cabana-Navia R, et al. Erythema multiforme-like allergic contact dermatitis from bay leaves in a home-made natural remedy. Contact Dermatitis. 2023.
- Khan I, Shah S, Ahmad J, et al. Effect of incorporating bay leaves in cookies on postprandial glycemia, appetite, palatability, and gastrointestinal well-being. J Am Coll Nutr. 2017.
- Chbili C, Maoua M, Selmi M, et al. Evaluation of daily Laurus nobilis tea consumption on lipid profile biomarkers in healthy volunteers. J Am Coll Nutr. 2020.
- Raman V, Bussmann RW, Khan IA. Which bay leaf is in your spice rack? A quality control study. Planta Med. 2017.
- Storing dried herbs & spices. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.
History of bay leaf
The bay laurel is a living relic. It descends from the laurel forests that covered much of the Mediterranean Basin when the climate was wetter. Drying during the Pliocene pushed those forests back, and most had disappeared by about 10,000 years ago, leaving remnants in places such as Turkey, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, the Canary Islands and Madeira.
In ancient Greece the tree belonged to Apollo. In the myth Apollo chased the nymph Daphne until she was turned into a laurel, and he then made wreaths from its leaves. Winners of the Pythian Games, held in his honor, received laurel wreaths, and the priestess at Delphi, the Pythia, reportedly chewed laurel leaves before she prophesied.
Rome kept the symbol. Laurel stood for victory, purification and health, and Augustus tied himself to it with laurels at his house on the Palatine Hill. A story says a sprig carried by his wife Livia grew into a grove that supplied the emperors’ wreaths, and that the grove died in Nero’s reign, which was read as an omen. Tiberius is said to have worn a laurel wreath during thunderstorms, because laurel was thought to be safe from lightning. Pliny the Elder noted that burning laurel on altars was forbidden, since the leaves crackle.
The words came along too. Poet laureate and baccalaureate both trace to the laurel, as do the phrases “resting on your laurels” and “assume the laurel.”
In the kitchen, bay leaf traveled with cooks. Spanish settlers brought dried bay laurel to the Philippines, where it goes into dishes such as adobo. The name stayed loose, though. A 2017 study warned that several other plants are sold as bay leaves, and a study of 15 laurel samples bought in six Turkish cities recommended that the product be standardized and quality-controlled before it reaches the market.
Sources
- Laurus nobilis. Wikipedia.
- Bay leaf. Wikipedia.
- Raman V, Bussmann RW, Khan IA. Which bay leaf is in your spice rack? A quality control study. Planta Med. 2017.
- Kendir G, Özek G, Köroğlu A, Özek T. The quality evaluation of the laurel leaf samples sold in the market under the name of “Defne Yaprağı”. Protoplasma. 2024.
Frequently asked questions about bay leaf
Is bay leaf good for you?
It adds almost no nutrition at kitchen amounts: a teaspoon of crumbled leaf (0.6 g) has 2 calories, 1% of the daily value for iron and 2% for manganese. Four small studies gave people bay leaf, and in one trial of 40 people with type 2 diabetes, capsules of 1 to 3 g of ground leaf lowered blood glucose by 21 to 26%. That is one small trial with no repeat we could find, so a leaf in the pot has not been shown to do anything.
Can you eat bay leaves?
Bay leaves are not poisonous, but they stay stiff and sharp-edged after cooking, so take them out before serving. Case reports describe swallowed whole leaves lodged in the esophagus and throat, blocking the duodenum and perforating the intestine, though such reports are rare. Ground bay leaf has no sharp pieces and is used in soups and stocks.
What does a bay leaf do in cooking?
It gives food a herbal, slightly floral aroma, somewhat like oregano and thyme, and the scent matters more than the taste. Much of that scent is 1,8-cineole, which made up 41 to 64% of the leaf oil in 15 samples from Turkey. Fresh leaves are very mild, and the full flavor develops several weeks after picking and drying.
Does bay leaf lower blood sugar?
Maybe a little, but the evidence is thin. In 40 people with type 2 diabetes, 1 to 3 g a day of ground leaf in capsules lowered blood glucose by 21 to 26% in 30 days. In 20 healthy people, cookies with 6% bay leaf powder lowered blood sugar at 30 and 45 minutes, but the total rise over 2 hours did not differ. It does not replace diabetes medicine, so check with your care team.
Is bay leaf tea good for you?
Small studies hint at benefits, but none had a comparison group. In 30 healthy volunteers, 5 g of leaves a day for 10 days went with slightly higher HDL cholesterol and lower cortisol. One case report links regular bay leaf tea to liver injury, and we found no official limit, so keep tea occasional.
How many calories are in a bay leaf?
Almost none. A teaspoon of crumbled dried leaf (0.6 g) has 2 calories, 0.05 g of protein, 0.2 g of fiber and 0.1 g of fat. The 313 calories per 100 g in the database is a figure for the dry leaf alone, and nobody eats that much.
Are all bay leaves the same?
No. True bay comes from Laurus nobilis, but Indian bay leaf (tejpat, Cinnamomum tamala), California bay, Indonesian salam and others are also sold as bay leaf. A quality-control study found their odor and flavor differ from true bay and warned that some substitutes can cause health problems. Check the label for bay laurel or Laurus nobilis.
Is cherry laurel the same as bay laurel?
No, and cherry laurel is the one to avoid. Bay laurel is considered non-toxic, but the leaves of cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) look similar and contain toxic cyanogenic glycosides. A plant study found them hard to tell apart without a microscope, so do not cook with garden leaves unless you are sure of the tree.