Say hello to 'Dragon's Breath' – World's hottest chili pepper, so spicy it may even cause death!

(Image for representational purposes only)

New Delhi: Surpassing the ranks of the previous Guinness World Record holders - the ghost pepper, Naga Viper, Naga morich, the Trinidad moruga scorpion, the Carolina Reaper and all the other 'hottest' chili peppers you've ever heard of or tasted, scientists have accidentally given birth to the world's hottest chili pepper!

Dragon's Breath – as it has been named – is so spicy that the consumption of even a single one may prove fatal, say scientists!

The chili was grown by Mike Smith, a farmer from Wales in collaboration with scientists from Nottingham Trent University in the UK.

Researchers believe that the oil from the chili is so potent that it could act as an alternative anaesthetic for those allergic to conventional drugs.

The peppers measure a formidable 2.48 million on the Scoville heat scale, which is a measurement of the pungency (spicy heat) of chili peppers or other spicy foods.

"I have tried it (the chili) on the tip of my tongue and it just burned and burned. I spat it out in about 10 seconds," said Smith.

Experts believe that anyone who attempted to swallow one of the chili peppers would be at risk of death from anaphylactic shock, 'The Telegraph' reported.

The Dragon's Breath is so powerful that one drop of its capsaicin oil would be detectable in 2.48 million drops of water.

Smith has applied to Guinness World Records and is currently awaiting confirmation that the chili is the world's hottest.

(With PTI inputs)