Growing in temperate and mountainous areas around the world, the evergreen Rhododendrons flowering plant contains a chemical called grayanotoxin. The psychoactive effects given off by the rhododendron flowers when fed on by bees gave the honey the name Mad Honey but even though its known as Mad Honey the mild and legal intoxication gets to work within 24 hours and lasts for less than a day, with the prognosis being extremely good with no fatalities, since it was first used as a folk medicine since 2100 BC.
The UK rarely imports any honey from Turkey, as the UK hive bees frequenting the rhododendron flowers, which is ericaceous. The honey produced from this nectar is non-lethal and reports by the Food Standards Agency says no cases of poisoning have ever been reported and consumers should not be concerned at all.
This substance can provide somewhat recreational effects at low doses but users should be aware that the concentration of the grayanotoxins varies between batches. Why we are not stirring this miracle gloop into our breakfast cereals or granola and our morning tea for a pleasant morning high that only this legal honey can do is still a mystery to many users and even some critics.
With over 700 different species of rhododendron world-wide there are only two or three known species that actually contain grayanotoxins in their nectar, as per studies were done by a doctor in Trabzon, Turkey at the Karadeniz Technical University School of Medicine.
Doctors studying Rhododendron Honey in Turkey, reports that the small amounts of honey produced in the Black Sea area, with it’s humid, mountainous slopes provide the perfect habitat for these flowers to grow in monocrop-like swaths and has a really strong following amongst the locals who also believe it’s a kind of medicine. Most of the locals use it to treat diabetes mellitus, some different stomach diseases, hypertension, and some of the older men use it to improve their sexual performance.
In closing, any current or possible users of Rhododendron Honey should consider not only the reasons for wanting to use it but always make sure they know the strength of the grayanotoxins in each batch and the right amounts to be used as per those strengths as the wrong dosage can be detrimental or non-effective. This can be inquired from the supplier or sometimes appears on the containers as per most countries’ product content advisory laws.
