Mad Honey (Grayanotoxin Honey): Evidence and Safety

Quick safety points

• Mad honey is honey that contains grayanotoxins, natural poisons from the nectar of rhododendrons and related plants (the heather family, Ericaceae). A European Food Safety Authority panel says these toxins can affect the heart, nerves and muscles. [1]
• The typical picture is dizziness, nausea, vomiting, sweating, a slow heart rate and low blood pressure. Fainting, heart block (a break in the heart's electrical signal) and seizures can happen. [2][3][4]
• Poisoning has followed very small amounts: case reports describe one to two teaspoons, and symptoms often start within 30 to 45 minutes. [9][18]
• If someone collapses, faints, has a seizure, has trouble breathing or cannot be woken, call 911 (or your local emergency number). For advice in the US, Poison Help is 1-800-222-1222 (free and confidential). [19]
• Mad honey is sold as a "natural" cure for high blood pressure, diabetes and low sexual desire. We found no trial showing a benefit, and the same products cause poisonings. Do not use it to treat yourself. [5][8][14]

What mad honey is

Mad honey is honey made by bees that feed on nectar from certain rhododendrons and related plants. The nectar contains grayanotoxins, and some of them end up in the honey. [1][5] Cases are best known from the Black Sea region of Turkey and from the Himalayan hills of Nepal. [3][8] Cases have also been reported far from where the honey is made, including in Qatar, the United Kingdom and a music festival in Nevada. [7][12][13] A 2026 review of cases from Nepal says the honey is increasingly traded online to buyers in North America, Europe and East Asia. [8]

In Turkey the honey is known as "deli bal" (literally "crazy honey"). We did not find that name in a source we read, so treat it as a plain-language note, not a cited fact.

Grayanotoxins keep the body's sodium channels (tiny gates in nerve and heart cells) open for too long. This raises activity of the vagus nerve, which slows the heart. [5][14] Grayanotoxins are not destroyed by being "natural" or "raw". The EFSA panel set a protective limit of 0.05 mg of two of the toxins (grayanotoxin I and III) per kilogram of honey, to guard against sudden poisoning. [1]

Food use and how it differs from medical use

Ordinary jar honey is a food and is not made from toxic nectar. Mad honey is a different case: it is not medical-grade honey and it is not a safe food in any amount we can name. Doctors in Turkey and elsewhere see it as a poisoning, not a treatment. Authors of a review said claims of medical benefit for these honeys have little evidence and may be harmful. [5] See medical-grade honey and wound care for the product that is actually studied in medicine.

Traditional use (not proof)

Reviews report that mad honey has been used in Nepal and Turkey for high blood pressure, diabetes and stomach problems. [14] A Nepal case series says people also take it for coronary artery disease or as a sexual stimulant. [9] A 2026 review of about 68 Nepal cases found that about 72% of patients were middle-aged men, and most were self-treating high blood pressure or sexual problems. [8] Traditional use does not show that it works. In these same reports, the honey made people sick.

What research shows

There are no clinical trials of mad honey as a treatment in the sources we read. What exists is case reports, case series and reviews of poisonings. These describe harm, not benefit.

Deaths: the Nepal review records none, and earlier Turkish series report none, but heart stopping has been described, so the risk is not zero. [2][8] The studies are small and come from hospitals, so they cannot tell us how common poisoning is among people who eat the honey.

Lab and animal work explains the mechanism (sodium channels and the vagus nerve) and shows that grayanotoxin plants poison cattle and pets. [5] It does not show a benefit for people. Proper evidence not found in the sources we read for any health benefit.

Forms and why they matter

Mad honey is sold as honey in jars, often called "wild" or "rhododendron" honey. Reports also describe rhododendron liqueur, which caused low blood pressure in six patients in South Korea. [16] Honey cannot be made safe at home: heating or filtering is not described in the sources we read as removing the toxin. Because the amount of toxin varies from jar to jar, nobody can say what a "safe" spoonful is. [1][8]

Safety and cautions

• Who is at risk: anyone who eats it. Case reports include healthy young adults and people in their seventies. [7][10][13] People who already have a slow heart rate, heart rhythm problems, low blood pressure or who take heart medicines may be in more danger; the sources we read do not test this directly, so ask a clinician.
• Symptoms and timing: dizziness, weakness, sweating, nausea, vomiting, tingling or burning, blurred vision, fainting, slow heart rate, low blood pressure; in severe cases heart block, confusion and seizures. Reports describe onset from about 10 minutes to a few hours; most patients recover within about 24 hours with treatment, but one patient needed up to 72 hours. [2][3][9][10][18]
• What doctors do: monitor the heart, give fluids and atropine, and sometimes drugs to raise blood pressure. There is no antidote; care is supportive. [2][4][13]
• What to do: go to emergency care for any symptoms after eating a honey that might be mad honey. Call 911 for fainting, seizure or trouble breathing. In the US call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 for advice. [19] Do not drive yourself if you feel faint. Do not try to treat yourself.
• Allergic-type reactions: two of seven men in one Nepal series had anaphylaxis (angioedema, hives, breathing trouble) and a second series noted anaphylactoid reactions. A review of bee-product harms lists allergic reactions as the most common type. [10][11][15]
• Sexual-enhancement marketing: reports describe the honey being sought as an aphrodisiac or sexual stimulant, and the Qatar authors say that reputation helps drive demand. [8][9][12] Do not take it for this. A separate EU alert review found sildenafil and tadalafil (erection medicines) in "aphrodisiac" honey products, so these products can also carry hidden drugs. [17]
• Pregnancy, breastfeeding, children, babies, diabetes, medicines: not described in the sources we read. As for any honey, never give honey to a baby under 12 months. See honey and infant botulism.
• Long-term effects: the EFSA panel noted some evidence of genotoxicity (DNA damage) in mice, with unknown mechanism, and a protective limit set only for sudden poisoning. [1]

Quality and buying

Poisoning cannot be spotted by smell, taste or look. The Nepal review notes there is no grayanotoxin test at the Nepali hospitals it covers, so doctors diagnose from symptoms. [8] Pollen testing was used to confirm one case. [20] Things that should make you stop:

• A jar or website using words like "mad honey", "wild honey", "rhododendron honey", "deli bal", or promising effects on blood pressure, sugar or sexual performance.
• Honey given as a gift or brought from Turkey, Nepal or nearby hills, with no tested label. The UK and Qatar cases involved honey brought from abroad. [12][13]
• Honey sold online from overseas to buyers in North America or Europe. [8]

If you are not sure, do not eat it. Throw it away out of reach of children and pets, or keep it sealed for a poison center or doctor. See how to read honey labels and avoid fakes.

Related pages

• Check before you use bee products: who should be careful
• Poisoning: urgent help
• Poison help by country
• Honey and infant botulism
• Honey adulteration, labels and how to choose
• Bee products and allergy warning signs