Page 375 - Pharmacognosy 2 PG303 (1)

Pharmacognosy-2 (PG303) Level 2 Clinical Pharmacy-Pharm D

Musk

Dried brown strong-smelling substance obtained from the preputial gland of the
male musk deer, Moschus moschiferus (Cervidae).

Preparation: The adult male musk deer has a sac with tubular orifice. This
contains a dark brown secretion. The animals are shot, and the
sacs cut off with a certain amount of animal skin and dried. The
skin is then trimmed off except for a small portion surrounding
the orifice. Each pod is wrapped in paper and packed in metal-
lined boxes.
Characters: Good musk is dark purplish dry mass, smooth to touch and
bitter in taste. Its odor is very strong, fragrant, and enduring with
a very powerful penetrating and persistent scent relative to that
of other known substances.

Constituents: • It contains 1.4% volatile mass (mainly a cyclic ketone,
muskone,) In addition to cholesterol, fat, resin, a bitter
resinous substance, and other animal principles.
• Musk tends to gradually crystallize with time.
• Since obtaining of natural musk requires killing the
endangered animal, nearly all muskone used in perfumery
today is synthetic.
• Artificial musk is a synthetic product obtained by
condensing toluene with isobutyl bromide in the presence
of aluminum chloride followed by nitrating the product.
Uses: • Perfumery manufacture.
• Diffusible stimulant in coma, depression, and exhaustion.

• Aphrodisiac (with coffee).

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