[Epileptic seizure after a cup of tea: intoxication with Japanese star anise].

- Two patients, a woman aged 58 years and a man aged 40 years, had an epileptic seizure after drinking 'Starmix tea'. Blood tests and radiological investigations provided no clarification for this. The EEGs showed epileptiform abnormalities, with a strongly disturbed background pattern, suggestive of a diffuse cerebral disorder. These results and the vomiting prior to the seizure indicated intoxication as the cause. The patients were treated with anti-epileptic medication. No more seizures were seen. The cause appeared to be contamination of the tea with Japanese star anise, upon which the medication was terminated. Intoxication, albeit relatively rare, should be included in the differential diagnosis of an epileptic seizure.