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Musk
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<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2> <h3>Deer</h3> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Musk_deer/Rn0boSaM">Musk deer</a></p> <p>The musk deer belongs to the family <a href="/facts/Moschidae/nYGYJ0km">Moschidae</a> and lives in <a href="/facts/Tibet/NQChzGo9">Tibet</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> <a href="/facts/India/1kKHcnxM">India</a>, <a href="/facts/Nepal/yWCzTBR2">Nepal</a>, <a href="/facts/Pakistan/cbIsvJy1">Pakistan</a>, <a href="/facts/Afghanistan/v63Auu1C">Afghanistan</a>, <a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p">China</a>, <a href="/facts/Siberia/oaCoPEjF">Siberia</a>, <a href="/facts/Mongolia/ogQzUcQb">Mongolia</a>, <a href="/facts/Manchuria/XTv2sK1o">Manchuria</a>, <a href="/facts/Korea/cj2kDBzc">Korea</a> and <a href="/facts/North_Vietnam/1d0osuEy">North Vietnam</a>. </p><p>The musk pod, a <a href="/facts/Preputial_gland/UNsYhxIh">preputial gland</a> in a pouch, or sac, under the skin of the abdomen of the male musk deer, is normally obtained by killing the male deer through traps laid in the wild. Upon drying, the reddish-brown paste inside the musk pod turns into a black <a href="/facts/Granular_material/FTFHA04f">granular material</a> called "musk grain", which is then tinctured with alcohol. The aroma of the <a href="/facts/Tincture/9FnzYB8U">tincture</a> 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; it is usually described abstractly as animalistic, earthy and woody<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> or something akin to the odor of baby's skin.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p><p>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 the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (<a href="/facts/CITES/hCahxMSr">CITES</a>), but illegal <a href="/facts/Poaching/UgYKJV0E">poaching</a> and trading continues.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p> <h3>Other animals</h3> <p><a href="/facts/Muskrat/weM7BNA3">Muskrat</a> (<i>Ondatra zibethicus</i>), a rodent native to <a href="/facts/North_America/djNjCQIl">North America</a>, has been known since the 17th century to secrete a glandular substance with a musky odor.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> A chemical means of extracting it was discovered in the 1940s, but it did not prove commercially worthwhile.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> </p><p>Glandular substances with musk-like odors are also obtained from the <a href="/facts/Musk_duck/7X365KCt">musk duck</a> (<i>Biziura lobata</i>) of southern <a href="/facts/Australia/qLHpbppq">Australia</a>, the <a href="/facts/Muskox/l3KEoRVB">muskox</a>, the <a href="/facts/Musk_shrew/t78vPzFb">musk shrew</a>, the <a href="/facts/Musk_beetle/4l21j8KG">musk beetle</a> (<i>Aromia moschata</i>), the <a href="/facts/African_civet/MqSt0svc">African civet</a> (<i>Civettictis civetta</i>), the <a href="/facts/Sternotherus_odoratus/P6IkE05M">musk turtle</a> (<i>Sternotherus odoratus</i>), the <a href="/facts/American_alligator/xHStTfHT">American alligator</a> of <a href="/facts/North_America/djNjCQIl">North America</a>, lynx musk, <i>lungurion</i> which, in antiquity, was highly valued, and from several other animals. </p><p>In <a href="/facts/Crocodile/yr24HAHf">crocodiles</a>, there are two pairs of musk glands, one pair situated at the corner of the jaw and the other pair in the <a href="/facts/Cloaca/e5rv15PI">cloaca</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> </p> <h3>Plants</h3> <a href="/facts/Wikisource/TrMdylNf">Wikisource</a> has the text of the 1905 <i><a href="/facts/New_International_Encyclopedia/k0NUmBoF">New International Encyclopedia</a></i> article "Musk Plant". <p>Some plants such as <i><a href="/facts/Angelica_archangelica/jgUAC5e5">Angelica archangelica</a></i> or <i><a href="/facts/Abelmoschus_moschatus/Tm9T6ArX">Abelmoschus moschatus</a></i> 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. </p><p>The plant sources include the musk flower (<i><a href="/facts/Mimulus_moschatus/6lbtcKaq">Mimulus moschatus</a></i>) of western North America, the muskwood (<i><a href="/facts/Olearia_argophylla/evE1LAhE">Olearia argophylla</a></i>) of Australia, and the musk seeds (<i><a href="/facts/Abelmoschus_moschatus/Tm9T6ArX">Abelmoschus moschatus</a></i>) from India. </p> <h2 id="synthesis">Synthesis</h2> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Synthetic_musk/F8cAFILR">Synthetic musk</a></p> <p>Since obtaining the deer musk requires killing the <a href="/facts/Endangered_species/L7cIweSW">endangered animal</a>, 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> The first two groups have broad uses in industry ranging from <a href="/facts/Cosmetics/rb1x6P8c">cosmetics</a> to <a href="/facts/Detergent/4FLKXR6p">detergents</a>. 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="fragrance-and-flavorant">Fragrance and flavorant</h2> <p>Musk is often associated with religious significance. In <a href="/facts/Islam/zDLbL45C">Islam</a>, musk is considered to be the most fragrant of the scents. It was widely used by the <a href="/facts/Islamic_prophet/WPWy6Gdp">Islamic prophet</a> <a href="/facts/Muhammad/5VcA7XrT">Muhammad</a> and his companions.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Alexander_the_Great/8N3gLElj">Alexander the Great</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a> is also said to have perspired the odor of musk.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a> Popular scents in Arab Muslim tradition include <a href="/facts/Jasmine/UphSY1Tc">jasmine</a>, <a href="/facts/Amber/GHP6h5gx">amber</a>, musk and oud (<a href="/facts/Agarwood/WmmSBfnU">agarwood</a>).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a> </p><p>Musk has been used to attract wild animals, including in man-made perfume mixtures. For example, in 2018 Indian authorities used the perfume <i>Obsession</i> by <a href="/facts/Calvin_Klein/nG4dSWIu">Calvin Klein</a> to attract and thus trap a wild tiger that had attacked and killed more than a dozen humans.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23"><sup>23</sup></a> </p><p><a href="/facts/Musk_stick/heozcQYj">Musk sticks</a>, which are artificially flavoured with a substance that is reminiscent of musk perfume, are a popular <a href="/facts/Confection/7h760gLH">confection</a> in <a href="/facts/Australia/qLHpbppq">Australia</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24"><sup>24</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Androstenol/KD06FTeK">Androstenol</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Civetone/PhDdyx4D">Civetone</a></li></ul> <h2 id="notes">Notes</h2> <p> This article incorporates text from a publication now in the <a href="/facts/Public_domain/YWKMDKw4">public domain</a>: <a href="/facts/Hugh_Chisholm/2vWblUBe">Chisholm, Hugh</a>, ed. (1911). "Musk". <i><a href="/facts/Encyclop%25C3%25A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition/mPElbCRY">Encyclopædia Britannica</a></i>. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 90. </p> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li>Borschberg, Peter, "<a href="https://www.academia.edu/4303041">O comércio europeu de almíscar com a Ásia no inicio da edad moderna - The European Musk Trade with Asia in the Early Modern Period</a>", <i>Revista Oriente,</i> 5 (2003): 90-9.</li> <li>Borschberg, Peter, "Der asiatische Moschushandel vom frühen 15. bis zum 17. Jahrhundert", in <i>Mirabilia Asiatica</i>, edited by J. Alves, C. Guillot and R. Ptak. Wiesbaden and Lisbon: Harrassowitz-Fundação Oriente (2003): 65–84.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: musk". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2007-04-07. <a href="http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/musk" target="_blank">http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/musk</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Chantraine, Pierre (1990). Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque. Klincksieck. p. 715. ISBN 2-252-03277-4. <a href="2-252-03277-4" target="_blank">2-252-03277-4</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Harper, Douglas. "musk". Online Etymology Dictionary. <a href="https://www.etymonline.com/?term=musk" target="_blank">https://www.etymonline.com/?term=musk</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: musk". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2007-04-07. <a href="http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/musk" target="_blank">http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/musk</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Chantraine, Pierre (1990). Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque. Klincksieck. p. 715. ISBN 2-252-03277-4. <a href="2-252-03277-4" target="_blank">2-252-03277-4</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>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 href="3-540-43706-1" target="_blank">3-540-43706-1</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"Musk: Its Pharmacological Action and Therapeutic Uses" (PDF). S2CID 39494684. <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9c90/f101ddaec25fc0575236d54eb0b4fcdee7a3.pdf" target="_blank">https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9c90/f101ddaec25fc0575236d54eb0b4fcdee7a3.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"迟来的大奖 人工麝香终获国家科技进步一等奖--科技--人民网" [Late grand award; artificial musk finally receives State Science and Technology Progress Award First Class]. scitech.people.com.cn (in Chinese). <a href="http://scitech.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0108/c1007-28030166.html" target="_blank">http://scitech.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0108/c1007-28030166.html</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Historical Section of the Foreign Office (Great Britain) (19 June 2021). "Tibet". Handbook (No. 70). Handbooks... No.70. H M Stationery Office (1920). hdl:2027/uc1.32106000253184. <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.32106000253184?urlappend=%3Bseq=72v" target="_blank">http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.32106000253184?urlappend=%3Bseq=72v</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>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 href="3-540-43706-1" target="_blank">3-540-43706-1</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>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 href="0-8493-2372-X" target="_blank">0-8493-2372-X</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>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 href="0-8493-2372-X" target="_blank">0-8493-2372-X</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Groom, Nigel (1997). New Perfume Handbook. Springer. pp. 219–220. ISBN 0-7514-0403-9. <a href="0-7514-0403-9" target="_blank">0-7514-0403-9</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Groom, Nigel (1997). New Perfume Handbook. Springer. pp. 219–220. ISBN 0-7514-0403-9. <a href="0-7514-0403-9" target="_blank">0-7514-0403-9</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Wareham, D.C. (2005). Elsevier's Dictionary of Herpetological and Related Terminology. Elsevier Science. p. 129. ISBN 0-444-51863-0. <a href="0-444-51863-0" target="_blank">0-444-51863-0</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>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 href="3-540-43706-1" target="_blank">3-540-43706-1</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>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 href="3-540-43706-1" target="_blank">3-540-43706-1</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2022-11-20. Retrieved 2022-04-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) <a href="https://sunnah.com/search?q=musk" target="_blank">https://sunnah.com/search?q=musk</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>Griffith, Sidney (2021). "The Narratives of "the Companions of the Cave," Moses and His Servant, and Dhū 'l-Qarnayn in Sūrat al-Kahf". Journal of the International Qur'anic Studies Association. 6: 137–166. doi:10.5913/jiqsa.6.2021.a005. <a href="https://lockwoodonlinejournals.com/index.php/jiqsa/article/view/2056" target="_blank">https://lockwoodonlinejournals.com/index.php/jiqsa/article/view/2056</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>Lyttelton, Celia (February 18, 2008). The Scent Trail: An Olfactory Odyssey. Bantam. ISBN 9780553815498 – via Google Books. <a href="9780553815498" target="_blank">9780553815498</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>Dussauce, Hippolyte (February 18, 1868). "A Practical Guide for the Perfumer: Being a New Treatise on Perfumery the Most Favorable to Beauty Without Being Injurious to the Health, Comprising a Description of the Substances Used in Perfumery, and the Formulæ of More Than One Thousand Preparations ..." H. C. Baird: London, Trübner & Company – via Google Books. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=85vsO1x-RCQC&dq=alexander+the+great+smell+musk&pg=PA55" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=85vsO1x-RCQC&dq=alexander+the+great+smell+musk&pg=PA55</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:22"><p>Auzias, Dominique; Labourdette, Jean-Paul (November 23, 2022). QATAR (EN ANGLAIS) 2023/2024 Petit Futé. Petit Futé. ISBN 9782305096186 – via Google Books. <a href="9782305096186" target="_blank">9782305096186</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:23"><p>"Calvin Klein's Obsession Could Be The Trick To Catching A Tiger". NPR. 14 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018. <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/10/14/657238908/calvin-kleins-obsession-could-be-the-trick-to-catching-a-tiger" target="_blank">https://www.npr.org/2018/10/14/657238908/calvin-kleins-obsession-could-be-the-trick-to-catching-a-tiger</a> <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:24"><p>Kriewaldt, Kit (2019-03-31). "Love it or hate it, the musk stick is one of Australia's most misunderstood treats". ABC News. Retrieved 2025-05-18. <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-31/musk-sticks-are-one-of-australias-most-hated-foods/10953712" target="_blank">https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-31/musk-sticks-are-one-of-australias-most-hated-foods/10953712</a> <a href="#fnref:24" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>