Grayanotoxin

Definition

Grayanotoxins occur in the nectar of several Rhododendron species and pass into honey made from them, chiefly in the Black Sea region of Turkey and in parts of Nepal. They bind to sodium channels and produce dizziness, nausea, vomiting, low blood pressure and bradycardia; severe cases require hospital treatment, though fatalities are rare and recovery is usually complete within a day or two. The honey is sold deliberately as deli bal or mad honey and consumed in small quantities for its intoxicating effect and for folk-medical purposes.

Where the word gets used loosely

This is the one clear counterexample to the general rule that honey is safe for healthy adults, and it deserves stating plainly rather than as a curiosity. Xenophon's Anabasis records a Greek army incapacitated by it in 401 BCE, which makes it one of the oldest documented food poisonings anywhere. It is also the one honey that is genuinely dangerous to dogs.

Honey records that discuss this

• Mountain laurel honey⚠Toxic: grayanotoxinsReported as bitter and sharp with a burning sensation in the throat, though the toxin is not reliably detectable by taste — which is the single most important fact about it.
• Himalayan cliff honey⚠Spring harvest can be toxicStrong, dark and complex, with a bitter herbal edge and a slightly astringent finish. Spring harvests are frequently sharper and more bitter than autumn ones.
• Mad honey⚠Toxic: grayanotoxinsBitter, sharp and astringent with a burnt-caramel edge and a distinct throat-catching sensation that is not a flavour but a pharmacological effect.
• Alpine rose honey⚠Grayanotoxin advisoryDelicate and short: a faint woody, floral and fresh-fruit aroma, medium sweetness, low acidity and no bitterness.

Guide records that discuss this

• Honey in warRation, dressing and waterproofing are the well-evidenced military uses. The famous stories — poisoned honey, hives as projectiles — divide sharply into one that holds up and several that do not.
• Can honey be poisonous? Tutin, grayanotoxins and the lawAlmost never — and the exceptions are specific. Two plant toxins are documented poisoning honey: grayanotoxins from certain rhododendrons, and tutin, which reaches New Zealand honey through an insect rather than a flower.

Question records that discuss this

• Which honey has the strongest flavour?Strawberry tree honey is the most bitter honey in wide production and probably the most extreme overall. For sheer intensity, chestnut, buckwheat, oak honeydew, avocado, carob and mad honey are the others at that end — and all of them are honeys where bitterness or savouriness competes with the sugar rather than adding to it.