Excerpt:
Toxicity of honey from certain sources is scarcely a new problem, having been recorded by Xenephon (Anabasis, Bk IV) and intermittently since. The occurrence of poisonous honey has been reviewed (1). The reported toxicity of honey from such genera as Rhododendron and Kalmia has been related by inference to the toxic principle of the leaves of these and other Ericaceae (1, 2). The active principle in these plants (Andromeda, Rhododendron, Kalmia, Leucothoe, Lyonia, and Pierie spp.) has been shown to be acetylandromedol (andromedotoxin) (3,4). Although flowers of Rhododendron (4) and Azalea (5) have been reported to contain aeetylandromodol, and the physiological effects of the honey have been ascribed to this compound. (2), no chemical procedure has been reported for the detection of acetylandromedol in honey.
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