Antony Worrall Thompson Recommends Henbane, a Deadly Poison for Salads

England's celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson recently recommended a deadly poison as a great way to enhance summer salads. The plant in question was henbane, also known as stinking nightshade. Coincidentally, Antony Worrall Thompson was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, where Shakespeare lived. I say coincidentally, because the poison used by Shakespeare's Romeo was supposedly composed of henbane.

Choosing Edible Plants

There are a lot of edibles herbs and plants that can be safely added to your diet, even things that one doesn't ordinarily think of as food. Dandelion greens, for example, can be boiled and eaten like spinach. Others have proven and well-known medicinal properties and should be used only with expert guidance. Wintergreen, which grows in abundance in the forests around my house, has a delightfully refreshing flavor when a single leaf is chewed, but the plant also contains aspirin-like compounds. Drinking too much or too potent Wintergreen tea, can cause serious organ damage. Still other wild plants are deadly poisons. Even some edible plants and mushrooms can be fine for some people but cause serious allergic reactions in others. Great care and expert guidance should always be used when selecting wild edibles, even many safe plants have harmful lookalikes.

Chef Antony Worrall Thompson's advice in Healthy and Organic Living magazine

I don't know about you, but any plant with a common name like stinking nightshade, is not going to be tops on my list of salad ingredients. Celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson, however, mistakenly recommended it in the Healthy and Organic Living magazine's August 2008 issue. The magazine's website currently displays this important correction: "In H&OL7 p60 Antony Worral Thompson recommends using henbane in salads. In fact henbane is a very toxic plant and should never been eaten. As always, check with an expert when foraging or collecting wild plants." Apparently, celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson and Healthy and Organic Living magazine should not be construed as experts on what to eat. So far as we know, no one has died or been injured by this careless mistake. On the other hand, these magazines will be lying around for years, with their deadly advice. Sooner or later, someone may try celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson's advice.

Henbane Poisoning Symptoms

Henbane poisoning symptoms include: dry mouth, dilated pupils, flushed skin, confusion, vomiting, hallucinations, coma, and death according to the Canadian Biodiverstiy Information Facility. To date, cases of human poisoning due to henbane have been relatively rare. Let's hope celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson's advice doesn't change that.