Dragon's Breath is a

chili pepper Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of fruit#Berries, berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to ...

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

that unofficially tested at 2.48 million

Scoville units The Scoville scale is a measurement of spiciness of chili peppers and other substances, recorded in Scoville heat units (SHU). It is based on the concentration of capsaicinoids, among which capsaicin is the predominant component. The scale i ...

Development

The plant was developed in a collaboration between chili farmer Neal Price, NPK Technology, and

Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university located in Nottingham, England. Its origins date back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham School of Design, Nottingham Government School of Design, which still opera ...

during a test of a special plant food and for its

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the ...

having potential as a skin

anesthetic An anesthetic (American English) or anaesthetic (British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia ⁠— ⁠in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into t ...

. The Dragon's Breath plant was later cultivated by

breeder A breeder is a person who selectively breeds carefully selected mates, normally of the same breed, to sexually reproduce offspring with specific, consistently replicable qualities and characteristics. This might be as a farmer, agriculturalist ...

Mike Smith of

St Asaph St Asaph (; "church on the Elwy") is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and community (Wales), community on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the community had a population ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, Flintshire to the east, Wrexham to the southeast, Powys to the south, and Gwynedd and Conwy to the west. Rhyl is the largest town, and Ruthi ...

, Wales, who said that he had not planned to breed the chili for record heat, but rather was trying to grow an attractive pepper plant. Due to the nationality of the farmer who cultivated the pepper in Wales, it was named Dragon's Breath after the

Welsh dragon The Welsh Dragon (, meaning 'the red dragon'; ) is a heraldic symbol that represents Wales and appears on the national flag of Wales. Ancient leaders of the Celtic Britons that are personified as dragons include Maelgwn Gwynedd, Mynyddog Mwynf ...

. It was entered in the Plant of the Year contest at the 2017

Chelsea Flower Show The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, formally known as the Great Spring Show,Phil Clayton, ''The Great Temple Show'' in ''The Garden'' 2008, p.452, The Royal Horticultural Society is a garden show held for five days in May by the Royal Horticultural So ...

where it was on the short list, but did not place.

Heat

The Dragon's Breath chili was unofficially tested at 2.48 million Scoville Heat Units (SHU), making it a contender for the hottest chili pepper in the world. As of October 2023, ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

'' has not recognized this claim, as the

Carolina Reaper The Carolina Reaper chili pepper is a cultivar of the ''Capsicum chinense'' plant. Developed by American breeder Ed Currie, the pepper is red and gnarled, with a bumpy texture and small pointed tail. It was the hottest chili pepper in the worl ...

was still mentioned as the current record holder at the time the claim was made. It has since been surpassed by

Pepper X Pepper X is a cultivar of chili pepper recognized by ''Guinness World Records'' in 2023 as the world's hottest chili pepper. It was bred by Ed Currie, the creator of the Carolina Reaper. Pepper X measures an average of 2.693 million Scoville h ...

, having been measured at 2.69 million SHU on August 23, 2023. Nottingham Trent University researchers suggest that the pepper's ability to numb the skin could make its

useful as an

anaesthetic An anesthetic (American English) or anaesthetic (British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia ⁠— ⁠in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into t ...

for patients who cannot tolerate other anaesthetics, or in countries where they are too expensive. Experts at the university warned that swallowing one might cause death by choking or

anaphylactic shock Anaphylaxis (Greek: 'up' + 'guarding') is a serious, potentially fatal allergic reaction and medical emergency that is rapid in onset and requires immediate medical attention regardless of the use of emergency medication on site. It typically ...

; one science writer noted that this was a standard warning that applied only to those with relevant allergies.

References

{{Use British English, date=May 2020 Chili peppers Capsicum cultivars Crops originating from Europe

Development

Heat

See also

References