Grayanotoxin

Grayanotoxins are a group of closely related neurotoxins named after Leucothoe grayana, a plant native to Japan and named for 19th-century American botanist Asa Gray.[1] Grayanotoxin I (grayanotoxane-3,5,6,10,14,16-hexol 14-acetate) is also known as andromedotoxin, acetylandromedol, rhodotoxin and asebotoxin.[2] Grayanotoxins are produced by Rhododendron species and other plants in the family Ericaceae. Honey made from the nectar and so containing pollen of these plants also contains grayanotoxins and is commonly referred to as mad honey.[3]

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.[3][4] It is most frequently produced and consumed in regions of Turkey and Nepal as a recreational drug and traditional medicine.[5][6]

  1. ^ Senning A (2007). Elsevier's Dictionary of Chemoetymology. Amsterdam: Elsevier. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-444-52239-9.
  2. ^ The Merck Index (10th ed.). Rahway, NJ: Merck. 1983. pp. 652–653. ISBN 9780911910278.
  3. ^ a b Jansen SA, Kleerekooper I, Hofman ZL, Kappen IF, Stary-Weinzinger A, van der Heyden MA (September 2012). "Grayanotoxin poisoning: 'mad honey disease' and beyond". Cardiovascular Toxicology. 12 (3): 208–15. doi:10.1007/s12012-012-9162-2. PMC 3404272. PMID 22528814.
  4. ^ Demircan A, Keleş A, Bildik F, Aygencel G, Doğan NO, Gómez HF (December 2009). "Mad honey sex: therapeutic misadventures from an ancient biological weapon". Annals of Emergency Medicine. 54 (6): 824–9. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2009.06.010. PMID 19683834.
  5. ^ Gunduz A, Şimşek P, Ayaz FA (March 2023). "Worldwide distribution and clinical characteristics of mad honey poisoning cases" (PDF). Central European Journal of Public Health. 31 (1): 69–73. doi:10.21101/cejph.a7501. PMID 37086424. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 February 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  6. ^ Sahin H (18 April 2015). "Grayanotoxin-III Detection and Antioxidant Activity of Mad Honey". International Journal of Food Properties. 18 (12): 2665–2674. doi:10.1080/10942912.2014.999866. S2CID 97859238.