Tiếng Việt13 Medicinal Benefits of Chili Peppers
Chili Peppers Come in Various Types: Sweet and hot varieties are the most common. Sweet peppers are often consumed as vegetables, while hot peppers are used as spices and medicinal ingredients.
All parts of the chili plant—including stems, leaves, fruits, and roots—can be used for medicinal purposes. The fruit can be used fresh or dried; the leaves are primarily used fresh.
Types of Chili Peppers
1. Long Chili Pepper
The long chili pepper has a cylindrical, fleshy shape.
Its scientific name is Capsicum frutescens L. (or Capsicum annuum L.), and it belongs to the Solanaceae (nightshade) family.
This is a small shrub, 0.5 to 1 meter tall, with many branches. Leaves are simple, opposite, and ovate with pointed tips. Flowers grow singly in the axils, rarely in pairs. The calyx is bell-shaped; the corolla is wheel- or bell-shaped, divided into six lobes, and is white or pale yellow. It has five stamens and an ovary with 2–3 chambers. The fruit is typically cylindrical and pointed, but its shape, size, and color can vary. Seeds are flat and kidney-shaped.
2. Bird’s Eye Chili (Chỉ Thiên Chili)
Scientific name: Capsicum frutescens L. var. fasciculatum (Sturt.) Bail, also in the Solanaceae family.
This is a smaller shrub compared to the long chili pepper. It has narrow leaves and fine foliage. The fruits are small, thin-walled, and grow in upright clusters at the tips of branches. They are bright red and extremely spicy.
3. Cherry Chili (Ớt Cà)
Scientific name: Capsicum frutescens L. var. cerasiforme (Mill.), also in the Solanaceae family.
This variety produces round, cherry-sized fruits with a diameter of about 2 cm. The fruits are bright red and have an attractive appearance.
Hot chili peppers are used both as a spice and in traditional medicine, particularly for their pain-relieving and antiseptic properties.
In recent years, non-pungent varieties of chili—commonly referred to as sweet peppers, tomato peppers, or Da Lat peppers—have gained popularity.
These belong to the same Solanaceae family, with the scientific name Capsicum frutescens L. var. grossum (L.) Bail.
This variety features large, round or pouch-shaped fruits with a wrinkled surface. When unripe, they are green; when ripe, they turn yellow or reddish-orange. The skin is thick and fragrant, but not spicy.
Medicinal Properties of Chili Plants
Chili Fruit:
Pungent and warm in nature, the fruit acts on the Heart and Spleen meridians (based on traditional Eastern medicine).
It is used to:
– Warm the digestive system
– Dispel cold
– Strengthen the spleen
– Promote digestion
– Relieve pain
– Serve as an antiseptic
– Treat diarrhea, indigestion, malaria, and improve circulation.
Folk Remedy for Migraines:
For one-sided headaches, fresh hot chili or chili oil is applied to the nostril on the affected side. This method can relieve pain quickly. To neutralize the burning sensation, it is traditionally recommended to dab the area with hair strands.
Chili Leaves:
Bitter and cooling in nature. Used for detoxification, clearing heat, and promoting urination.
Chili Roots:
Have similar properties to the fruit—promotes blood circulation, reduces swelling. Commonly used to treat fatigue in limbs, testicular inflammation, and functional uterine bleeding.
Chili Stems:
Hot and spicy in nature. Help to dispel cold and dampness, remove blockages. Used in treatment of cold-related joint pain and frostbite-induced soft tissue damage.
Chili for treating frostbite, itchy skin, and numbness caused by cold weather (winter exposure).
Traditional Remedies Using Chili Plants
Back pain, rheumatism, and neuralgia:
Crush fresh chili peppers and soak in alcohol at a 1:2 ratio (1 part fresh chili, 2 parts alcohol). Use the mixture for topical massage.Stroke with locked jaw (trismus):
Use 30–50g of fresh bird’s eye chili leaves. Crush, mix with water and a pinch of salt. Strain the juice and pour into the patient’s mouth; apply the pulp to the teeth. This method helps the patient regain consciousness.Malaria:
Crush 30g of fresh chili leaves, mix with boiled and cooled water. Strain and drink the juice two hours before the fever episode. Take once daily for 5–7 consecutive days.Edema (swelling):
Roast 30–40g of fresh chili leaves until golden, then boil and drink the decoction within the day.
Snake/insect bites:
Mix 15 fresh chili peppers, 3 papaya leaves, and 80g bird’s eye chili root. Crush, add water, strain to drink, and apply the pulp to the bite area.
For insect stings (centipedes, etc.), use a smaller dose or just crushed chili leaves for topical application. Reapply after 15–30 minutes if pain persists.Eczema:
Mix 30g fresh chili leaves and 20g tamarind leaves. Crush and apply as a poultice daily for 5–10 days.Boils, abscesses, and soft tissue injuries:
Combine 10–20g each of chili leaves, custard apple leaves, dandelion leaves, crape myrtle leaves, and jujube leaves. Crush with a pinch of salt and apply to the affected area.Chronic abdominal pain:
Use 10g each of chili root, lemon root, and Zanthoxylum (Sichuan pepper) root. Roast and boil the mixture. Drink the decoction during the day.Joint pain from cold exposure or injury:
Soak 12g of chili in 500ml of alcohol for 20–30 days. Drink 5–10ml each time, twice a day.Hair loss:
Soak 12g of chili in 500ml of alcohol. After 10–15 days, apply the infused alcohol to balding areas 2–3 times a day to stimulate hair growth.Skin inflammation with blisters or ulceration:
Dry-roast chili until brittle, grind into a fine powder, and sprinkle on affected areas once a day.Redness, irritation, numbness, or itching from cold weather:
Boil chili in water for washing, or cook in vegetable oil to create “chili oil” for topical application.Frostbite in the elderly due to cold weather:
Use 60g chili stems, 20g dried citrus peel, and 30g garlic. Boil and use a cotton pad to apply the liquid to affected skin 2–3 times daily.
