Chillistand

Bih jolokia, botanically known as Capsicum chinense Jacq. is extensively cultivated in North Eastern Region of India especially in the states of Assam, Nagaland and Manipur.                                                                                                                                                                                     It is also known by other names like Bhut jolokia, Borbih jolokia, Naga jolokia, Nagahari, Naga Morich, Raja mirchi etc. It has a long standing association with ethno-agricultural activities of people of this region. Vedic and several other ancient literatures also describe its use in traditional medicine for curing many ailments. The local inhabitants commonly use this chilli for making pickles and adding hotness to non-vegetarian food stuffs.

Recently, this chilli has been in limelight as the “hottest chilli on earth” by the name Nagahari, Naga Moresh and Naga jolokia which are nothing but mere synonyms of Bih jolokia. It has a Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) of 855,000 [Reported by DRL, Tezpur, Assam (India) in the journal Current Science, 79: 287-8].  also recorded a slightly higher SHU level of 1,041,427 in Bih jolokia through HPLC analysis of the sample collected during summer of 2004. Other renown hot chillies like Red Savina Habanero (577,000 SHUs), Thai Chillies (100,000 SHUs), Jalapeno or Italian Peperoncino (below 5000 SHUs) stand much below thehotness level of Bih jolokia. Existence of a very high level of pungency in Bih jolokia of North East India may be ascribed undoubtedly to the genetic factor. Additionally, the unique soil and climatic conditions of this region purhaps provide the best possible environment for expression of the full potential.