The Black Sea’s poison; Mad Honey

Abstract

Honey and honey production have been an important source of revenue among the peoples of Anatolia throughout the course of history. Beekeeping is possible everywhere in Turkey thanks to its ecological and geographical features. The best known of these is the type popularly known as ‘mad honey’, the name of which appears in ancient texts, because of its effects on human beings. Its toxic effects are caused by the substance known as grayanotoxin in the flowers of “Rhododendron ponticum”, known among the local inhabitants as the forest rose, which grows in high-altitude forested areas in the Black sea region of Turkey. Like other cholinergic toxidromes, treatment with intravenous atropine and normal saline infusion, can be life-saving in this poisoning.

Keywords: Mad Honey, Black Sea, Poisoning