For some people, eating chile peppers (known as chillies in India) is like eating candy. For others eating them will set off fire alarms. Bell peppers are the babies in the chile family with a heat index of zero SHU (Scoville Heat Units). There are Jalapenos, Thai chiles, Habaneros, and many more in between in the ascending scale of heat index. But then there is Bhooth Jolokia which is now the king of all chile peppers topping the heat index scale at 1 million Scoville units. It was a “hotly” contested race for the title “the hottest chile pepper in the world” that Bhooth Jolokia won hands down.
The hottest pepper, Bhooth Jolokia, native to northeast India, is now cultivated in England and the United States under controlled climates for further propagation. The word “bhooth” means ghost in many Indian languages. Pretty scary name for a little pod that sets fire alarms in the brain! The heat of the chillies is due to the chemical called capsaicin. Capsaicin itself is a tasteless, odorless, and colorless substance but with a burning sensation. The heat index is a measure of the amount of capsaicin in the chile pepper. If you cut the Bhooth Jolokia pepper and touched your tongue with it, it numbs your tongue and then sends a fire alarm to your brain. It is now used in the preparation of several hot sauces. There are several “Hot sauce tasting contests” in different states in the US. Usually many chillies do not contribute any flavor—just the heat. But there are some including Bhooth Jolokia which lend themselves for blending with flavors making them more versatile in cooking. Bhooth Jolokia can be blended with milder cherry peppers, carrots, onions and other products of the vegetable kingdom to flavor the fire, so to speak.
Health Effects: The spicy ingredient in chile peppers, capsaicin, triggers fluid formation in air passages of the lungs and the upper respiratory system thereby mitigating the misery of asthma, chronic bronchitis, sinusitis and congestion by washing away the irritants. Eating chillies helps in weight control. Capsaicin triggers the release of endorphins (which are endogenous painkillers produced by the brain) which help in lowering blood pressure and pain mitigation. In addition, capsaicin reduces the stickiness of blood platelets thereby functioning as an anticoagulant which is good for cardiovascular health. Now there is new medical evidence that capsaicin could dramatically reduce damage from heart attacks according to a research study published in the journal Circulation (September 15, 2009 issue). The researchers applied capsaicin on the abdominal skin of mice before cutting off blood supply to their coronary (heart) arteries for 45 minutes which essentially mimicked a heart attack. In 24 hours these mice lost only 15% as many heart cells as control mice that had received a placebo gel application before the same procedure. The researchers conclude that capsaicin applied to the abdominal skin helps the heart recovery by stimulating nerves connected to the spinal cord which in turn energize the survival-oriented nerves in the heart muscle. Application of capsaicin on abdominal skin mimics an abdominal incision which elicits cardioprotection. The protective effect is initiated by pain perception at the skin level generating a neuro-signal involving spinal nerves and activation of cardiac sensory and the sympathetic nervous system.
Although no human clinical trials have been undertaken, this rodent study points out the potential of capsaicin as a novel therapeutic strategy for human cardioprotection. The broader implication here is that consumption of chile peppers could have a prophylactic effect in warding off heart attacks. Irrespective of whether it does or not in individual cases it does not hurt to eat chile peppers if you already like them. Don’t be scared off by the name “Bhooth Jolokia”. More (heat) power to the chillies!
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