Fish curry in Bangladesh, chicken curry in India, camel biryani in Sudan, laksa in Malaysia — all of them contain one common ingredient, turmeric. Beyond making food taste good, the question now being asked of one of the world's oldest and most popular spices is how much it actually does for health.

As a crop, turmeric is widely spread. There are about 30 varieties, used extensively in the cooking of Asia, Africa and South America. Carried by the South Asian diaspora, its use has spread from Bali and Fiji in the Pacific to the Caribbean islands in the west.

The spice has a long history. Ragini Kashyap, a food researcher and podcaster who works on the South Asian diaspora, says turmeric is mentioned in texts going back two and a half thousand years.

The belief in it runs deep. In South Asia it is firmly held that the spice has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. Speaking on the BBC's The Food Chain, Ms Kashyap said: "When I am ill, turmeric is one of the first things that comes to mind. It gives me great comfort. Mixed into it is a little comfort, a little medicine and a little nostalgia." In India it is also part of a wedding ritual in which turmeric paste is applied to the faces of the bride and groom.

In Western markets that belief has become a product. Sales have risen sharply since consumers began hearing about turmeric's benefits, and turmeric supplements are now marketed widely. Turmeric contains a compound called curcumin, regarded as beneficial to health, and supplements are sold on claims ranging from bone and joint health to improved immunity.

Social media has played a part in the rise, Ms Kashyap believes, as people share positive experiences of taking turmeric.

She also explained how the market message forms. "If a large part of a billion people believe very firmly that turmeric can fix many kinds of problem, then that is a powerful message across the whole world," she said, adding lobbying and supplement companies to the picture. For a turmeric grower, that means export demand rests heavily on what consumers believe.

Source: BBC Bangla