Mother Nature offers us the most versatile product known as honey. When thinking about honey, its sweetness and incredible healing powers come into play at first. There is another type of honey known as mad honey, which is an amped-up version of regular honey. Mad honey is extracted from rhododendron flower and has hallucinogenic properties. For this reason, it is known as hallucinogenic/Himalayan honey or deli bal honey.
Due to its hallucinogenic properties, Himalayan mad honey causes dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. It’s reddish in color and has a bitter taste. For this reason, the chances of consuming it by accident are minimal. Bees make this type of honey upon feeding on rhododendron flowers, which have psychoactive effects. The flowers have a chemical called grayanotoxins, which is vital in the making of mad honey. The flowers grow in places with moderate temperatures and mountainous areas.
The neurotoxic compounds are cyclic diterpenes and are found in varying concentrations depending on the flower species and time of the year. Available scientific literature has identified over 25 types of grayanotoxins in rhododendrons. When grayanotoxins are consumed either directly from the flower or in the honey, they work in the human body and alter the binding gated sodium ion channels in the body cells. The alteration causes the channels from closing quickly.
The result is the causing of a depolarization state where sodium ions freely flow into then cells and influx of calcium in the cells. Increased level of calcium in the cells stimulates the release of acetylcholine, which in turn causes the cholinergic syndrome. This results in a set of symptoms identified by their toxicology acronym:
SLDEGE Salivation, lacrimation/crying, urination, defection, gastrointestinal distress, and emesis/vomiting. In low concentrations, it is known to reduce blood pressure and moderate heartbeat. Overdosing can potentially kill an individual; however; no much death cases have been reported.
Users of this Himalayan mad honey understand the fact that small amounts are what is required since it possesses hallucinogenic properties in unknown concentrations. Not only people seek intoxication from Himalayan honey but also relief from arthritis and boosting sexual performance. Besides, available literature demonstrates that grayanotoxins reduce hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol levels, and cold sores.
In summary, this honey is obtained from rhododendron flowers and has psychoactive properties. Besides, mad honey has medicinal properties that potentially reduce heart diseases, diabetes, hypertension, cold sores, and cholesterol levels. Moreover, it is a relief to arthritis and boosts sexual performance. However, it has unknown toxic and medicinal properties concentrations, it is advisable as such, not to consume without proper description.
