Can you overdose on mad honey?

Consume too much, however, and mad honey can cause severe sickness, including vomiting, diarrhea, loss of consciousness, seizures and although rare, can be fatal.

Is honey made from rhododendrons poisonous?

Grayanotoxins are produced by Rhododendron species and other plants in the family Ericaceae. Consumption of the plant or any of its secondary products, including mad honey, can cause a rare poisonous reaction called grayanotoxin poisoning, mad honey disease, honey intoxication, or rhododendron poisoning.

How long does mad honey effect last?

The toxic effects of honey poisoning are rarely fatal and generally last for no more than 24 hours. Symptoms of poisoning occur after a dose-dependent latent period of a few minutes to 2 or more hours.

Is mad honey a neurotoxin?

The dark, reddish, “mad honey,” known as deli bal in Turkey, contains an ingredient from rhododendron nectar called grayanotoxin — a natural neurotoxin that, even in small quantities, brings on light-headedness and sometimes, hallucinations.

Can honey get you high?

But one type of honey found in Nepal only during a select few months of the year has another sort of effect: it’s a hallucinogen. Called mad honey, the honey’s hallucinogenic properties are a result of a substance called grayanotoxin that comes from rhododendron pollen.

Is mad honey good for you?

Mad honey has been commonly used as an aphrodisiac (sexual stimulant), in alternative therapy for gastrointestinal disorders (peptic ulcer disease, dyspepsia, and gastritis), and for hypertension for a long time.

Is honey toxic to humans?

However, honey may contain compounds that may lead to toxicity. Honey produced from the nectar of Rhododendron ponticum contains alkaloids that can be poisonous to humans, while honey collected from Andromeda flowers contains grayanotoxins, which can cause paralysis of limbs in humans and eventually leads to death.

Does mad honey really work?

Researchers have found some evidence that suggests that grayanotoxin-containing preparations could help with hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, and even cold sores. These are just preliminary studies, though, and as such should not be taken as evidence that mad honey is safe or effective.

What happens if you eat honey that contains grayanotoxin?

Honey made from the nectar and so containing pollen of these plants also contains grayanotoxins and is commonly referred to as mad honey. Consumption of the plant or any of its secondary products, including mad honey, can cause a rare poisonous reaction called grayanotoxin poisoning, mad honey disease, honey intoxication, or rhododendron poisoning.

Which is the most common cause of grayanotoxin poisoning?

Mad honey intoxication Bees that collect pollen and nectar from grayanotoxin-containing plants often produce honey that also contains grayanotoxins. This so-called “mad honey” is the most common cause of grayanotoxin poisoning in humans.

What are the side effects of mad honey?

An error occurred while retrieving sharing information. Please try again later. The core symptoms of mad honey poisoning include nausea, vomiting, salivation, headache, blurred vision, sweating, weakness, circumoral paresthesia, tongue numbing, fainting, drowsiness, drunkenness, tingling, and seizures.

How long do symptoms of grayanotoxin poisoning last?

The cardiac and general cholinergic symptoms of grayanotoxin poisoning (e.g., nausea, vomiting, syncope, diplopia) generally occur within minutes to a few hours of mad honey ingestion,420,422,423,430,432–434 after which they last less than 24 hours.