musk
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(mŭsk) 
n.
n.
- A greasy secretion with a powerful odor, produced in a glandular sac beneath the skin of the abdomen of the male musk deer and used in the manufacture of perfumes.
- A similar secretion produced by certain other animals, such as the otter or civet.
- A synthetic chemical resembling natural musk in odor or use.
- The odor of musk.
- An odor similar to musk.
- A musk deer.
[Middle English, from Old French musc, from Late Latin muscus, from Greek moskhos, from Persian mušk, probably from Sanskrit muṣkaḥ, testicle.]
musk, odorous substance secreted by an abdominal gland of the musk deer, used in perfume as a scent and fixative. The gland, found only in males, grows to the size of a hen's egg; the secretion is reddish-brown, with a honeylike consistency and a strong odor that may function in the animal as a sexual attractant. After the pouch is cut the secretion hardens, assumes a blackish-brown color, and when dry becomes granular. In commerce the musk pouches are called "musk pods," and the dried secretion "musk grains." Usually a tincture of alcohol is made from the grains; this is then added to expensive perfumes. The chief constituent that gives musk its odor is the organic compound muscone. Musklike substances are also obtained from the muskrat and the civet. Some plants yield oils which resemble musk; these include the seed of ambrette (Hibiscus abelmoschos) and the sumbul root (Ferula sumbul) of central Asia and Turkistan. A number of synthetic musklike products are now also used.
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Source: Moschus moschiferus L. (Family Moschidae).
Common/vernacular names: Tonquin musk, musk Tonquin, and deer musk.
The musk deer is a relatively small solitary animal standing about 0.5 m high at the shoulder and measuring 0.65–0.95 m long; both male and female are devoid of antlers. It is distributed in mountainous regions of Asia such as northern India, Tibet, and southern, western, northern, and northeastern China.
Musk is the highly odoriferous secretion derived from the musk gland present under the abdomen near the pubis of the male animal. There are two methods of obtaining musk. In the first method, the male musk deer is trapped and killed in late winter or early spring and the whole musk gland is immediately removed from the abdomen. After drying, the whole gland is known as a pod and the secretion inside in the form of granules is called grained musk, or musk grains. This used to be the only method of collecting musk. Nowadays musk is collected more and more from male musk deer raised in captivity. In this method, the male deer is tied to a special table on its back and the secretion is carefully removed from the musk gland with a special sterilized spoon. Healthy male deer at least 3 years old are used. Musk is collected once a year in late winter or early spring; sometimes it is also collected twice a year, in March or April and in July or August. The fresh secretion is a dark brown viscous semisolid, which turns into brownish yellow or purplish red granules when dried.
Major musk producers include China and India.
It should be noted that the term musk is sometimes also used to describe substances or compounds that have an odor similar to that of true musk grains; these "musks" can be of synthetic, for example, musk xylene, nitromusks and polycyclic musks, or natural origins.
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The chemistry of musks is fascinating. There is no one chemical structure that creates muskiness. Likewise one musk compound might have a strong musky odor. The addition of a chemical group may make the strength of a musk compound increase substantially, however, the addition of another chemical group might make the compound's muskiness disappear. Again, on another compound the effect might be totally different. Musks fall into four main categories: (1) Nitro musks; (2) Macrocyclic musks; (3) Indane musks; and (4) Lactone musks. Ambrette seed oil contains the macrocyclic compound omega 6 hexa decene lactone. Musk ketone, ambrette, and musk xylol were previously GRAS and were delisted. Musks have limited use in flavors because they are so pervasive and are therefore not widely used. Some flavors that have used musks are blackberry, pear, and maple. Musks have been recently looked at more closely from a toxicological standpoint because they seem to be poorly metabolized by the body and have been shown to build up in the body's fat tissues. Blood musk retention in the adipose of pregnant women is the greatest concern.
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categories related to 'musk'
- Smells - musk: strong odor of substance secreted in gland of male musk deer, or synthesized, used in making perfume; must
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This article is about the musk odor. For the MuSK receptor, see MuSK protein. For the entrepreneur, see Elon Musk.
For the locality in Australia, see Musk, Victoria.
Musk is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial substances with similar odors.[1][2] Musk was a name originally given to a substance with a penetrating odor obtained from a gland of the male musk deer. The substance has been used as a popular perfume fixative since ancient times and is one of the most expensive animal products in the world. The name, originated from Sanskrit muṣká meaning "testicle," has come to encompass a wide variety of substances with somewhat similar odors although many of them are quite different in their chemical structures.
Until the late 19th century, natural musk was used extensively in perfumery until economic and ethical motives led to the adoption of synthetic musk, which is now used almost exclusively.[3] The organic compound primarily responsible for the characteristic odor of musk is muscone.
Modern use of natural musk pods occurs in traditional Chinese medicine.
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Natural sources
Musk deer
Main article: Deer musk
The musk deer belongs to the family Moschidae and lives in India, Pakistan, Tibet, China, Siberia and Mongolia. To obtain the musk, the deer is killed and its gland, also called "musk pod", is removed. Upon drying, the reddish-brown paste inside the musk pod turns into a black granular material called "musk grain", which is then tinctured with alcohol. The aroma of the tincture gives a pleasant odor only after it is considerably diluted. No other natural substance has such a complex aroma associated with so many contradictory descriptions; however, it is usually described abstractly as animalic, earthy and woody[3] or something akin to the odor of baby's skin.[4]
Musk has been a key constituent in many perfumes since its discovery, being held to give a perfume long-lasting power as a fixative. Today the trade quantity of the natural musk is controlled by CITES but illegal poaching and trading continues.[4]
In Ayurveda, Musk has been considered as a life saving 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.
Other animals
Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), a rodent native to North America, has been known since the 17th century to secrete a glandular substance with a musky odor.[5] A chemical means of extracting it was discovered in the 1940s, but it did not prove commercially worthwhile.[5]
Glandular substances with musk-like odor are also obtained from the musk duck (Biziura lobata) of southern Australia, the muskox, the musk shrew, the musk beetle (Aromia moschata), African civet (Civettictis civetta), the musk turtle, the alligator of Central America, and from several other animals.
In crocodiles, there are two pairs of musk glands, one pair situated at the corner of the jaw and the other pair in the cloaca.[6] Musk glands are also found in snakes.
Plants
Some plants such as Angelica archangelica or Abelmoschus moschatus produce musky smelling macrocyclic lactone compounds. These compounds are widely used in perfumery as substitutes for animal musk or to alter the smell of a mixture of other musks.
The plant sources include musk flower (Mimulus moschatus), the muskwood (Olearia argophylla) of the Guianas and West Indies, and the seeds of Abelmoschus moschatus (musk seeds).
Artificial compounds
Main article: Synthetic musk
Since obtaining the deer musk requires killing the endangered animal, nearly all musk fragrance used in perfumery today is synthetic, sometimes called "white musk". They can be divided into three major classes: aromatic nitro musks, polycyclic musk compounds, and macrocyclic musk compounds.[3] The first two groups have broad uses in industry ranging from cosmetics to detergents. However, the detection of the first two chemical groups in human and environmental samples as well as their carcinogenic properties initiated a public debate on the use of these compounds and a ban or reduction of their use in many regions of the world. Macrocyclic musk compounds are expected to replace them since these compounds appear to be safer.[3]
See also
Notes
- ^ "Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: musk". Merriam-Webster. http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/musk. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
- ^ Chantraine, Pierre (1990). Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque. Klincksieck. pp. 715. ISBN 2-252-03277-4.
- ^ a b c d Rimkus, Gerhard G. (Ed.); Cornelia Sommer (2004). "The Role of Musk and Musk Compounds in the Fragrance Industry". Synthetic Musk Fragrances in the Environment (Handbook of Environmental Chemistry). Springer. ISBN 3-540-43706-1.
- ^ a b Rowe, David J. (Ed.); Philip Kraft (2004). "Chapter 7. Aroma Chemicals IV: Musks". Chemistry and Technology of Flavours and Fragrances. Blackwell. ISBN 0-8493-2372-X.
- ^ a b Groom, Nigel (1997). New Perfume Handbook. Springer. pp. 219–220. ISBN 0-7514-0403-9.
- ^ Wareham, D.C. (2005). Elsevier's Dictionary of Herpetological and Related Terminology. Elsevier Science. pp. 129. ISBN 0-444-51863-0.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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Translations:
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Musk
idioms:
- musk melon melon, netmelon
Nederlands (Dutch)
muskus, muskusdier/ -plant, met muskus parfumeren
idioms:
- musk melon cantaloup
idioms:
- musk melon Zuckermelone, Gartenmelone
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ζωολ.) μόσχος ο μοσχοφόρος
idioms:
- musk melon (φυτολ.) μηλοπέπονο
idioms:
- musk melon melone
Português (Portuguese)
n. - almíscar (m)
idioms:
- musk melon melão almiscarado (f)
Русский (Russian)
мускус, мускусный запах, душиться мускусом
idioms:
- musk melon мускусная дыня
Español (Spanish)
n. - almizcle
idioms:
- musk melon pequeño melón redondo u oval
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
麝香鹿, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物
idioms:
- musk melon 香瓜, 甜瓜
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 麝香鹿, 能發出麝香的各種各樣的植物
idioms:
- musk melon 香瓜, 甜瓜
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 麝香, じゃこうの香り
idioms:
- musk melon マスクメロン
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) المسك
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - מוסק (בושם המופק מבלוטה של אייל המוסק)
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