Karen Oland wrote:
>
> Maurice,
>
> The PA's are naturally present in the pollen. The fireweed plant
> "creates" it. Just as these alkaloids are in plants such as comfrey
> (mostly in the roots) and cause the same type of damage if ingested.
> This is not a foreign "agent" that is sticking to the pollen. Fireweedi
> is present in large numbers in other areas and the honey is sold - a
> recent post on another group said it was very light in color and flavor.

I wondered just what the dosage is to create problems. The NIH has a
useful site on toxic chemicals, and they had this concerning Reddelline,
which came under my search for PA.

http://ntp-server.niehs.nih.gov/cgi/iH_Indexes/ALL_SRCH/iH_ALL_SRCH_Frames.html

The most interesting part is that it is also found in honey.

So should all honey and pollen not be sold/eaten if it it is collected
from any area where these plants, like fireweed, are present, since they
will probably have PA?

Which is where we get back to dosage. What is the flowering period of
the plant? What other plants are in competition at the time so what is
the actual concentration of PA?

There are many questions that seem to need answers, unless we are
talking zero tolerance, then what other plants have toxic pollen/nectar
if we are going to define toxic by the large dosage tests run in the
lab? There are chemicals in many foods that are either toxic or
carcinogens by that test, yet in the amounts present in the foods, are
harmless or even beneficial.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, ME