- Author: GREAT MASTER VIKRANT ROHIN
- Date: MAY 3, 2023
Do you know what is musk? This is a substance taken from the musk deer, from which you can make the world’s best fragrance and best medicine. if you are keen on cologne (perfume) and maintaining a collection. In the realm of colognes and fragrances, the term “deer musk” is quite well-known.
- It is a chemical that is extracted from the CAUDAL GLANDS of a musk deer.
- Musk is found in a small sac situated at a short distance behind the navel and just in front of the perpetual orifice (located between the navel and genitals of mature male musk deer,).
- The Musk is secreted by the alveoli of the inner lining of the sac and is collected in its cavity.
- For the collection of Musk, the pod is completely removed after killing the animal.
- The quantity available in each pod varies from 8 to 60 gm. Fresh Musk is usually moist which can be dried in open sunlight.
Musk deer and musk. A Moschus berezovskii Flerov, B Moschus sifanicus Przewalski, C. Moschus moschiferus Linnaeus, D. Musk, E. Musk sachets
ETYMOLOGY : The English name musk for musk is gotten from the Sanskrit word muska ( gonads )
“small testicles”. Today, deer musk is commonly referred to as “kasthuri” in India.
OTHER NAMES OF DEER MUSK ARE:
- Moschus moschiferus
- Chevrotain Porte-Musc
- Cerf Porte-Musc
- Tonquin Musk
- Almazicle
FOUND: As the source of the natural musk, geographically, musk deer are mainly distributed across at least 13 countries in Asia
The animal is found in India, Tibet, Nepal, China and Russia etc. at an altitude of 3000- 4000 mt rs.
SPECIES: Most people seem to think that only one unique species of deer have musk glands. However, this is not true. The term “musk deer” is used to refer to a group of deer species, all of which belong to the Moschus family. The Moschus family consists of seven different species.
- Anhui musk deer (Moschus anhuiensis): found in Eastern China
- Chinese forest musk deer or dwarf musk deer (Moschus berezovskii): found in Southern China and Northern Vietnam
- Black or dusky musk deer (Moschus fuscus): found in the Eastern Himalayas
- Alpine musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster): found in the Eastern Himalayas
- Siberian musk deer (Moschus moschiferus): found in North-East Asia
- Kashmir musk deer (Moschus cupreus): found in the Western Himalayas and the Hindu Kush
- Himalayan or white-bellied musk deer (Moschus leucogaster): found in the central Himalayas
MUSK DEER ARE NOT REALLY DEER
Although these musk-producing animals are called “deer”, they are not like true deer. Musk deer have many physical characteristics that do not match with true deer belonging to the Cervidae family.
MANUFACTURING: Musk (कस्तूरी) is the dried secretion from the perpetual follicles of Musk Deer (Moschus moschiferus L. ). The musk from the musk glands was then dried and processed into very pleasant-smelling perfumes. Because of its intoxicating odor, deer musk was often referred to as an aphrodisiac.
- Musk is found in a small sac situated at a short distance behind the navel and just in front of perpetual orifice (located between the navel and genitals of mature male musk deer,). The Musk is secreted by the alveoli of the inner lining of the sac is collected in its cavity. For the collection of Musk, the pod is completely removed after killing the animal. The quantity available in each pod varies from 8 to 60 gm. Fresh Musk is usually moist which can be dried in open sunlight.
IN HISTORY
- The first mention of deer musk was made in the 5th century A.D. in the Talmud, a text of Jewish theology. In the Talmud, deer musk was mentioned as an animal-based fragrance. A century later, Cosmas Indicopleustes, a Greek explorer, talked of deer musk as a product that was found in the country of India.
- Natural musk is initially recorded in Shen Nong’s Classic of the Materia Medica (Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing).
- In the 9th century, Al-Kindi, who is referred to as the father of Arab philosophy, began to use deer musk in many of his perfume recipes. These perfumes were then exported to different regions on a ship, which is how deer musk became popular worldwide.
- Deer musk perfumes soon became an item of luxury within the Royalty and were popular among the caliphs of Baghdad as well as the Abbasid Caliphate
- Until the finish of the nineteenth century, musk was accessible just from regular sources. Nonetheless, most fabricated materials are as of now utilized. Muskone is a natural exacerbate that is the fundamental driver of the normally happening smell of musk
CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS: The Musk has a slightly bitter taste and a strong aromatic odor. Its solubility in alcohol and water is 10-12 % and 50-75% respectively. On steam distillation, it yields a ketone-Muscone which is said to be the principal odorous constituent.
- Studies found that musk mainly contains macrocyclic ketones, pyridine, steroids, fatty acids, amino acids, peptides, and proteins, whilst the main active ingredient is muscone.
PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIONS: The Musk has anti-histaminic, anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic, diuretic, and central nervous system stimulating actions, which can be equated with its various clinical uses in Ayurveda and Siddha.
- Modern pharmacological studies have proven that musk possesses potent anti-inflammatory effects, neuroprotective effects, anti-cancer effects, antioxidant effects, etc. Moreover, muscone, the main active ingredient, possesses anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, antioxidant, and other pharmacological effects. In the quality control of musk, muscone is usually the main detection indicator, and the common analytical method is GC, and researchers have established novel and convenient methods such as HPLC-RI, RP-UPLC-ELSD, and Single-Sweep Polarography. In addition, quality evaluation methods based on steroids and the bioactivity of musk have been established. As for the identification of musk, due to various objective factors such as the availability of synthetic Muscone, it is not sufficient to rely on muscone alone as an identification index.
- To date, some novel technologies have also been introduced into the identification of musk, such as the electronic nose and DNA barcoding technology. In future research, more in vivo experiments and clinical studies are encouraged to fully explain the pharmacological effects and toxicity of musk, and more comprehensive methods are needed to evaluate and control the quality of musk.
USES
IN SCENT – PERFUME The Encyclopedia Brittanica declares that a single grain of deer musk can perfume millions of cubic meters of air without any weight loss, and its scent is more persistent and more penetrating than any other substance known to mankind.
IN AYURVEDA and Siddha, Musk has been considered a lifesaving drug and used in various cardiac, mental, and neurological disorders. It has also been included in various compound formulations like Kasturi Bhairav Ras, Kasturi Modak, Mrignabhyadi Vati, and Mrigamadsar, etc., which have wide therapeutic applications.
- Useful in Hysteria-one drop of oil should be mixed in 1000 ml of water. This water should be divided into 10 parts and each part should be given 3 times per day after meals for a few days. Smelling it from time to time, as well as using in perfume lamp in the room may also help.
- In the case of Nervous disability nervous disorders circulatory problems and arterial tension. One drop should be mixed in 1000 ml of water. This water should be given in 100 ml doses 3 times a day for a few day, just before Breakfast, Lunch, and dinner. Perfumed handkerchiefs should be smelled from time to time during the day and evening is also helpful.
- It is a rejuvenating tonic for body and mind as it stimulates the brain cells.
- Stimulates the urinogenital organs, and helps to increase leucocytes of the blood. It is
- useful in Anemia, as well as may be helpful in blood cancer.
- It is also an aphrodisiac and tonic but never used too much. Only a small quantity should be used. 20 drops of essential oil mixed with 100 ml of any base like sesame, almond, coconut etc. could be massaged on the skin
IN UNANI MEDICINE, Musk is used in palpitation, melancholia, epilepsy, hysteria, dementia, tremors and whooping cough.
IN CHINESE MEDICINES It has been utilized to treat conditions such as stroke, coma, neurasthenia, convulsions, and heart diseases in China since ancient times. (Proven studies)
- Anti-cancer effects: Musk is widely used to treat cancer. It is included in many traditional Chinese medicine formulae for treating cancer, such as the Xihuang pill. Xu et al. studied the effects of musk and muscone on 22 types of tumor cells
- Cardiovascular-protective effects Studies have shown that some herbs or active ingredients in them have the potential to treat cardiovascular diseases, such as curcumin, baicalin, and berberine.
- Promoting effect on stem cell therapy: Nowadays, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are widely used in stem cell therapy. Related reports have demonstrated that musk has the effect of promoting mesenchymal stem cell therapy
Currently, plenty of pharmacological effects of musk and its main active ingredient, muscone, have been proved by modern pharmacological research, such as anti-inflammatory effects and neuroprotection, but many other pharmacological effects related to traditional applications have yet to be proven.
SYNTHETIC MUSK : Now synthetic Muscone is available commercially.
Right now other related scents are otherwise called musk. Be that as it may, they may likewise be gotten from synthetic substances that are unique in relation to the first musk. Musk is the glandular discharge of creatures other than deer, the emissions of numerous plants that transmit a musk-like aroma, and even the manufactured substances that contain this fragrance are made of a solitary bump called musk.
Due To Their Musk, Musk Deer Have Become Endangered
OTHER IMPORTANT POINTS
The musk deer are hunted extensively for their musk pod, which has pushed their species to the brink of extinction. Therefore, The International Union for Conservation of Nature has added musk deer to the Red List Data of the Endangered Species. These deer have also acquired a place in the First Schedule under the Endangered and Rare Species of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Sadly, these laws are not enforced as strictly as they should be, as a result, the numbers of musk deer continue to decline steadily.
The extraction of deer musk for commercial purposes has led to a serious drop in the population of all seven species of musk deer. Therefore, since 1972, the Convention of the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) is protecting the musk deer as an endangered species. As of today, CITES controls the trade quantity of deer musk firmly.
DEER MUSK IS MALE-ORIENTED : The reason behind saying so is the fact that only the male musk deer can provide musk. It is because the musk is produced from a musk gland that is situated right in front of their penis. Their female counterparts do not contain this gland. Therefore, people often associate musk with a “manly” odor.
COST OF MUSK An average-sized musk gland is about 30 g, containing musk grains of about half that weight. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), The price of 1 kg musk is about $45,000 on average in the international market. That’s pretty expensive. In fact, deer musk is by the far the most highly-valued part of a deer’s body.
