Bergamot

Bergamot Tea Safety

Side Effects
Drugs.com reports that Early Grey tea can cause a loss in potassium, muscle cramps, blurred vision, twitching, fasciculations and paresthesias. This is related to a component of bergamot oil called bergapten.

TOO MUCH EARL GREY CAUSES PROBLEMS

Bergamot oil contains bergapten (5-methoxypsoralen), bergamottin (5-geranyloxypsoralen), and citropten (5,7-dimethoxycoumarin). It is a well known UVA-induced photosensitiser (making the skin abnormally sensitive to sunlight), has a toxic effect on the liver and can also cause contact allergy. The side effects observed in this case can be explained by bergapten, which has effects on electrical conduction in membranes of peripheral nerves (it is a largely selective axolemmal potassium channel blocker and reduces potassium permeability at the nodes of Ranvier). The resulting hyperexcitability of the nerve axon membrane and timing alterations of nerve potassium currents can cause the twitching and muscle cramps.