Ambergris II- Musk 1- Natural musk 2- Synthetic musk

1. Phytochemistry
Volatile oils
Aromatic constituents from animal origin
By
Dr. Mostafa Mahmoud Hegazy ( PH.D.)

2. Aromatic constituents from
animal origin
I- Ambergris
II- Musk
1- Natural musk
2- Synthetic musk

3. Ambergris “floating gold”
• ambergrease or grey amber. The word “amber" is
derived from the Arabic word for ambergris, " anbar" .ʿ
• Source: a pathological product obtained from the
intestinal tract of the sperm whale which is found in
tropical seas or seashores.
• Properties: gray to black waxy mass, with fragrant
odor, soluble in organic solvents, fats and volatile oils.
OH
H
H
H
Ambrein

4. • Constituents
• The three isolated major components are ambrein (a tricyclic triterpenoid
alcohol, about 25%), and a series of sterols of the cholestanol type mainly
epicoprostanol and coprostanone.
• The ratio of the two types of terpenes determines the quality of the material.
The best samples (gray amber) contain 80% of ambrein, while black
amber contains up to 46%.
• Uses : in perfumery, as a tincture for fixation of delicate odors. It gives a
great tenacity and persistence of odor to fine perfumes and traditionally as
sexual tonic.

5. Musk musk vampire
sources
They are obtained from animal and plant sources and
through chemical synthesis.
1- Natural musk is derived from the rump glands of the
Asian male musk deer (Moschus moschiferus L.), responsible
for secreting the sexual pheromone musk into the
environment, the civet cat, Viverra civeta and the Louisiana
musk rat etc…
2- They are also obtained from certain plant organs such as
ambrette seeds (Ambelmoschus moschatus) and angelica root
(Angelica archangelica).

6. Harvesting The musk deer gland, also called "musk pod", is
removed. It is dried either in the sun, on a hot stone, or by immersion in
hot oil. Upon drying, the reddish-brown paste turns into a black
granular material called "musk grain", which is used for alcoholic
solutions. The aroma of the tincture becomes more intense during
storage and gives a pleasant odor only after it is considerably diluted.
Obtaining one kilogram (2.2 lb) of musk grains requires between 30-50
deer, making musk tinctures highly expensive. At the beginning of the
19th century, Tonkin musk grains cost about twice their weight in
gold.

7. Natural musk
• The basic ring structure must contain at least 14 C in addition to either a
C=O (carbonyl) or NH (imino) group.
• The musk odor is confined to a very specific ring size (15-17 C atoms).
• These are macrocyclic ketones or lactones mostly with at least 15
carbons in their ring structure e.g. Muscone or Muskone and civetone
the 17- membered macrocyclic musk constituent of civet.
CH3
O
O
Civetone
9-cycloheptadecen-1-oneMuscone
3-Methylcyclopentadecanone
CH
H2C
H3C
C
CH2(CH2)11
O
CH
CH
(CH2)7
(CH2)7
C=O

8. Synthetic musk
• Versalide is an example of synthetic musks ( C18 ketone,).
• used in perfuming, cosmetics and soaps These constitute a
group of perfume fixatives having a characteristic persistent
aroma.
CH3H3C
CH3H3C
CH3
O
C
H2
CH3
Versalide

9. For more educational lectures
cognosy4all.blogspot.com

10. cognosy4all.blogspot.com
Pharmacognosy and Herbal Medicine Dr. Mostafa