Zoology, chemical composition, pharmacology, quality control and future perspective of Musk (Moschus): a review

Abstract

Musk, the dried secretion from the musk sac gland which is located between the navel and genitals of mature male musk deer, is utilized as oriental medicine in east Asia. It has been utilized to treat conditions such as stroke, coma, neurasthenia, convulsions, and heart diseases in China since ancient times. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of musk in zoology, chemical composition, pharmacology, clinical applications, and quality control according to the up-to-date literature. Studies found that musk mainly contains macrocyclic ketones, pyridine, steroids, fatty acids, amino acids, peptides, and proteins, whilst the main active ingredient is muscone. 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.

Keywords: Muscone; Musk; Pharmacology; Quality control.

Fig. 1

Countries where musk deer are distributed

Fig. 2

Musk deer and musk. A Moschus berezovskii Flerov, B Moschus sifanicus Przewalski, C. Moschus moschiferus Linnaeus, D. Musk, E. Musk sachets

Fig. 3

Chemical structures of some cyclic ketones and steroids in musk

Fig. 4

The mechanisms of musk against inflammatory diseases

Fig. 5

The neuroprotective effect of musk

Fig. 6

The protective effect of musk against microglial cell inflammation