Medical Toxicology of Natural Substances || Rhododendrons and Grayanotoxins

✍ Scribed by Barceloux, Donald G.

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• Year: 2008
• Weight: 97 KB
• Category: Article
• ISBN: 047172761X
• DOI: 10.1002/9780470330319.ch152

✦ Synopsis

The toxicity of honey collected from bees frequenting rhododendron leaves has been recognized since ancient times. The ancient Greek soldier, Xenophon, reported in the Anabasis the poisoning of his troops by the honey of Rhododendron ponticum fl owers. While disabled after honey ingestion, Pompey ' s army was massacred by King Pontius ' s army in northern Asia Minor. 1 The disease was characterized by nausea, vomiting, lethargy, weakness, and paresthesias that lasted several days.