Reported Grayanotoxin Concentrations in Mad Honey (mg/kg)

Reported Grayanotoxin Concentrations in Mad Honey

Real, laboratory-measured grayanotoxin (GTX I and III) ranges in mad honey, plotted against the risk bands. The headline: potency varies close to 90-fold from batch to batch.

Educational use only. This page is a data reference, not medical or safety advice, and does not tell you whether any honey is safe to eat. Seek medical care right away for a slow heartbeat, fainting, or an inability to stand after eating mad honey.

~90x Reported grayanotoxin I in real mad honey spans 0.75 to 64.86 mg/kg, a spread of close to 90-fold (about 86x) between the weakest and strongest positive samples. Potency is invisible without a lab test.

Data visualization

Reported ranges against the risk bands

Grayanotoxin I (Ahn et al., 2022, Nepal)

0.75 to 64.86 mg/kg

Grayanotoxin III (Ahn et al., 2022, Nepal)

0.25 to 63.99 mg/kg

Honey from intoxication cases (EFSA 2023, Table 15)

3.1 to 114 mg/kg

Total grayanotoxin concentration (mg/kg of honey)

Risk bands (mg/kg) Trace: under 1 Low: 1 to 10 Moderate: 10 to 30 High: over 30 Reported ranges Grayanotoxin I Grayanotoxin III Honey from intoxication cases

Data

The data

Swipe to see all columns →

All concentrations are total grayanotoxin per kilogram of honey. Bands are documented literature ranges, not safe-versus-unsafe categories.
Measure	Source	Min (mg/kg)	Max (mg/kg)	Bands spanned	Notes
Grayanotoxin I	Ahn et al. (2022), Nepal	0.75	64.86	Trace to High	LC-MS/MS. 33 of 60 samples positive.
Grayanotoxin III	Ahn et al. (2022), Nepal	0.25	63.99	Trace to High	LC-MS/MS. Same sample set.
Honey from intoxication cases	EFSA (2023), Table 15	3.1	114	Low to High	Total GTX I + III where reported, across the analyses of honey from poisoning cases that EFSA tabulates; the highest is a Black Sea honey (These et al. 2015). Aygun et al. (2018) also measured GTX III up to 76 mg/kg.

Why the spread matters. Ahn et al. (2022) tested 60 Nepalese mad honey samples by LC-MS/MS and found grayanotoxins in 33. Among positive samples, grayanotoxin I ranged from 0.75 to 64.86 mg/kg. The weakest and strongest differ by close to 90-fold. Mad honey looks and tastes the same across that range, so concentration cannot be judged by eye. A laboratory test is the only reliable way to know a batch’s grayanotoxin level.

Context

What this means for risk

The European Food Safety Authority (2023) derived a reference point (a BMDL10) of 15.3 micrograms per kilogram of body weight for the sum of grayanotoxins I and III, and concluded that concentrations in commercially available mad honey raise health concerns. A reference point is used to assess risk. It is not a safe dose, and EFSA could not set a tolerable intake (a health-based guidance value) for grayanotoxins.

A concentration is not an exposure: the amount taken in also depends on how much honey is eaten and on body weight. The Grayanotoxin Dose Calculator shows that arithmetic for a lab-reported concentration; it is not a guide to how much to eat.

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<p style=”font:13px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif;color:#6b7280″>Source: <a href=”https://cliffmadhoneyindex.org/safety-standard/grayanotoxin-risk-bands/”>Grayanotoxin Risk Bands, Cliff Mad Honey Index</a></p>

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Citation

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Cliff Mad Honey Index, “Reported Grayanotoxin Concentrations in Mad Honey,” cliffmadhoneyindex.org.

More in this hub

Grayanotoxin Dose Calculator Turn a concentration and serving size into a dose and risk band. Safety Standard: GTX Risk Bands The methodology and definitions behind these bands.

References

Sources

Ahn SY, Kim S, Cho H (2022). Determination of grayanotoxin I and grayanotoxin III in mad honey from Nepal using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Analytical Science and Technology 35(2), 82 to 91. GTX I measured at 0.75 to 64.86 mg/kg and GTX III at 0.25 to 63.99 mg/kg, with 33 of 60 samples positive. doi:10.5806/ast.2022.35.2.82
EFSA CONTAM Panel (2023). Risks for human health related to the presence of grayanotoxins in certain honey. EFSA Journal 2023;21(3):e07866. Reference point (BMDL10) of 15.3 micrograms per kilogram of body weight for the sum of GTX I and III. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2023.7866
Aygun A, et al. (2018). Grayanotoxin levels in blood, urine and honey and their association with clinical status in patients with mad honey intoxication. Turkish Journal of Emergency Medicine 18(1), 29 to 33. doi:10.1016/j.tjem.2017.05.001
These A, et al. (2015). A case of human poisoning by grayanotoxins following honey ingestion: elucidation of the toxin profile by mass spectrometry. Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A 32(10), 1674 to 1684. doi:10.1080/19440049.2015.1042410
The range for honey from intoxication cases (3.1 to 114 mg/kg, total GTX I and III where reported) is from the analyses EFSA (2023) tabulates in Table 15.