What is "drunk" honey and how is it dangerous for humans
Dangerous products for humans can not always be distinguished by their appearance and even taste. "Drunk" honey looks like ordinary and is just as sweet and fragrant. This makes it even more dangerous. If you eat it a little, then a state similar to intoxication will occur, but if you overdo it, then the person will die.
The existence of deadly honey was known in ancient times. The ancient Greek historian Xenophon of Athens, who lived in the 5th-4th centuries BC, described the unpleasant acquaintance of Greek soldiers with him during the Greco-Persian war. The Hellenic army then camped in the mountains of Colchis, on the territory of modern Georgia. To feed themselves, they began to hunt and look for the gifts of nature in the forests.
The warriors found hives of wild bees in the forest and ate honey. Xenophon describes the consequences as follows:
Those who ate a little, just fell down and fell fast asleep. But the Greeks, who ate a little more, behaved frighteningly. They were like madmen — shouting and singing, wandering aimlessly around the camp and constantly falling. Fortunately, everything ended well. The historian writes that in the morning everyone woke up alive, although they were very scared. The effects of poisoning were felt for several more days.
To get poisoned by "drunk" honey, a person needs to eat 100-150 grams. Obviously, there were too many people who wanted to taste sweets among the Greeks and no one exceeded the lethal dose.
Toxicologists say that such honey is dangerous in any quantities, since its effect depends on a person's body weight and physical condition. A child or a woman can be killed by 50 grams of this delicacy, so you need to be extremely careful.
The inhabitants of Georgia knew about the properties of forest honey long before the story with the Greeks. Even in the 19th century, peasants from the vicinity of Batumi bred bees only for the sake of wax. Honey was a kind of lottery for them — the chance of getting "drunk" and putting their lives in danger was very high.
As you may have guessed, deadly honey is obtained from the nectar of poisonous plants. Bees do not understand toxicology and produce honey, including from rhododendron, vermilion, azalea, marsh heather, aconite. The more of these plants near the hive, the higher the chance of poisoning.
People encounter "drunk" honey not only in the Caucasus. There are cases of mass poisoning all over the world. Ancient Japanese treatises tell about honey that can kill. Cases of poisoning are still recorded in the mountains of the Land of the Rising Sun, mainly among tourists.
Theoretically, you can encounter "drunk" honey in our region. Henbane, hemlock, foxglove are plants, honey from which is dangerous. Fortunately, they rarely grow in large quantities and the risk of poisoning in the middle latitudes is minimal. Therefore, you can enjoy honey and not think about the consequences.
Did you know that there are bees that collect nectar and make honey, but at the same time they feed on dead meat? Such a strange species was discovered by scientists in North America.