Behavior of the Hottest Chili Peppers in the World Cultivated in Yucatan, Mexico

Abstract

<jats:p>The Yucatan Peninsula is recognized as the center of genetic diversity of Habanero peppers (<jats:italic>Capsicum chinense</jats:italic> Jacq.), which can be distinguished from those cultivated in other regions of the world by their aroma, taste, and—most of all—by their pungency. We evaluated three commercial varieties of chili peppers reported as being the hottest in the world: ‘Bhut Jolokia’, ‘Trinidad Moruga Scorpion’, and ‘Carolina Reaper’. The aim of our study was to determine the behavior of the pungency when cultivated under the edaphoclimatic conditions of Yucatan. Our results show that the three varieties registered greater contents in comparison with those reported in other regions of the world. ‘Carolina Reaper’—considered to be the hottest variety in the world, with a pungency of 2,200,000 Scoville heat units (SHU)—when cultivated in Yucatan, had a pungency of 3,006,330 SHU, which was greater than all the other varieties analyzed.</jats:p>

Polyphenols Content in Capsicum chinense Fruits at Different Harvest Times and Their Correlation with the Antioxidant Activity

“…After 30 min, the absorbance was measured at 765 nm in a spectrophotometer. Gallic acid at different concentrations (5,10,15,20,25,30,40,60, 80 and 100 µg mL −1 ) was used as a standard to determine the total polyphenols in Habanero pepper samples; results were expressed as mg of gallic acid in 100 g of dried pepper.…”

“…of the Yucatan Peninsula is considered one of the most important [ 2 , 3 ]. This is due to its high content of capsaicinoids, which classifies it as one of the hottest peppers in the world [ 4 , 5 ]. It has also been recognized nationally and internationally by the designation of origin obtained in 2010 (“Chile Habanero de la peninsula de Yucatán”) by the “Mexican Institute of Intellectual Property” [ 6 , 7 ].…”

Hotter chili peppers by hybridisation: heterosis and reciprocal effects

“…With the exception of C. pubescens , which has limited importance today as a cultivated species, all remaining domesticates have been specifically bred to give rise to a high diversity of cultivars (Carrizo García et al, 2016), providing an excellent resource for the study of phenotypic variation induced by artificial selection (Pickersgill, 2018). The selection for fruit-related traits has brought in an amazing diversity of fruit colors, size and shapes (Scossa et al, 2019), including a wide variation of pungency levels, with cultivated varieties covering the full spectrum from completely sweet to prohibitively hot fruits (Muñoz-Ramírez et al, 2018). The pungent taste of peppers is conferred by a class of vanillylamides, called capsaicinoids, which accumulate during ripening in the placenta of hot varieties (Naves et al, 2019).…”

“…The copyright holder for this this version posted September 18, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.09.16.460669 doi: bioRxiv preprint (Scossa et al, 2019), including a wide variation of pungency levels, with cultivated varieties covering the full spectrum from completely sweet to prohibitively hot fruits (Muñoz-Ramírez et al, 2018). The pungent taste of peppers is conferred by a class of vanillylamides, called capsaicinoids, which accumulate during ripening in the placenta of hot varieties (Naves et al, 2019).…”

Selection of Habanero Pepper F1 Hybrids (Capsicum chinense Jacq.) at the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico with a High Potential for Different Markets

“…Recently, Muñoz-Ramírez et al [9] evaluated the pungency of 'Bhut Jolokia', 'Trinidad Moruga Scorpion' and 'Carolina Reaper' peppers cultivated at Yucatan, Mexico, which have been published in the Guinness Book of World Records at different periods of time as the hottest peppers in the world [10,11], and the three varieties significantly surpassed the pungency for which they were originally acknowledged. The 'Carolina Reaper', grown in Yucatán and regarded as the hottest variety in the world with 2,200,000 SHU, reached 3,006,330 SHU.…”