A woman from Germany was poisoned after eating hallucinogenic ‘mad honey’ that she brought back from Turkey.
The unnamed patient, of Turkish descent, collapsed just an hour after eating a batch of the sweet treat and was rushed to hospital, according to a case report.
The condiment is a speciality in the Black Sea area of Turkey and has been used for hundreds of years as a treatment for diabetes and sexual dysfunction.
However, large amounts is known to cause dangerously low blood pressure, which can lead to heart failure if the body doesn’t pump enough blood around the body.
Despite her near-death ordeal, the woman still eats mad honey – which is strikingly different to the conventional honey bought in supermarkets – as her husband believes in its therapeutic benefits.
The unnamed patient, of Turkish descent, collapsed just an hour after eating a batch of the sweet treat and was rushed to hospital (stock)
The bizarre tale prompted interest by doctors and was published in the European Journal of Case Reports in Internal Medicine.
Writing in the publication, they said: ‘Historically, this poisoning is mentioned over the millennia as mad honey disease.’
The woman, believed to be from Oberhausen, began vomiting and sweating before she eventually collapsed in the street.
Her husband rushed her straight to St Marienhospital, where tests showed she had bradycardia.
They thought her dangerously low blood pressure was triggered by a heart attack and she was whisked away to intensive care.
However, laboratory tests came back negative and doctors asked her spouse about her history to determine the cause of her poor health.
A chat between her husband and doctors then revealed the patient had consumed a Turkish honey around an hour before her symptoms began.
He warned that she had taken a ‘bit more than usual’ – before telling medics he had seen ‘strong men’ left ‘almost dead’ after eating the same honey.
The husband, who is also unidentified, was asked to collect a sample of the Turkish honey for specialists at the hospital to inspect.
Doctors were left urgently scrambling to find a ‘honey specialist’ before they came across one at a German institute for consumer protection.
They revealed it was likely the cause of her symptoms was down to grayanotoxin, which can be found in some types of honey in the Black Sea area.
The natural neurotoxin is found in certain species of rhododendron plants, which is then passed onto the bees who pollinate the colourful flowers.
Most cases of poisoning have occurred in Turkey, but global travel is allowing cases to crop up all over the world.
German specialists were unable to measure the level of grayanotoxins in patient serum because they didn’t have the necessary equipment.
A microscopic analysis of the honey tested positive for grayanotoxins, which can also be found in certain honeys made in Nepal.
The woman made a full recovery within 24 hours.