Musk, Long Xianxiang, civet and castoreum are the four major animal spices. Musk Musk is a fragrant substance formed in the fragrant glands and sachets under the navel of mature male musk deer, also known as inch incense, umbilical incense and pawpaw. Musk has a strong and persistent fragrance, which has an extremely significant impact on people's psychological and physiological systems and is of great value in the perfume industry and pharmaceutical industry. The sachet of male musk deer is an oval bag, which is located under the navel, and the perfume gland is surrounded by the sachet. The primary perfume liquid of musk is secreted from the perfume gland, which forms musk after entering the sachet. After about two months of ripening and storage, it forms powdery and granular "musk kernels". Mature musk is brown, and it is dark brown after drying. Its shape is mostly powder, and sometimes it is grain-like, skin-like or oily. Cut off the whole sachet and dry it, which is "Moschus with hairy shell", and its weight is very small, generally only 5 5- 10/0g. Moschus fur shell is mostly brown, about 5 cm in diameter, oval, with dense white or grayish brown hairs and a small sac hole in the middle. After cutting open, you can see some powder or small particles of "musk kernel", as well as a small amount of fine hair and detached endothelium, which is commonly called "silver skin" Wild musk kernel is soft, oily and loose. Among them, the granular musk kernel is the best in quality, commonly known as "Dangmenzi", which is irregular spherical or granular, with purple-black surface, oily and bright, and slightly pockmarked; Powdered people are called yuan Cun and Cun Xiang, and most of them are brown or yellowish brown. Powdered or granular musk kernels are not convenient to use, and it is not appropriate to carefully grasp the dosage, so musk kernels are often made into musk solutions when blending spices. There are five species of musk deer: primitive musk deer, horse musk deer and forest musk deer; Black musk deer and Himalayan musk deer are often called musk deer. Although musk deer belongs to Cervidae, its size is very small, its height and length are within 1 m, its weight is only a few tens of kilograms, its head has no horns, and the male beast also has fangs. Musk deer like to live in high altitude plateaus and mountainous areas. Generally, they move alone. They are sensitive in smell, sight and hearing, timid, alert, nimble in action, and good at jumping and running over cliffs. They are very "spiritual" animals. Generally, activities begin to feed in the early morning and rest after dawn; After dusk, activities began again until midnight; I like to eat food such as usnea, Carex, Rhododendron, Yanagi Takayama, tender branches and leaves of shrubs, weeds and so on. Musk deer's activities, defecation and habitat have fixed routes and places, which are generally not easy to change, and there is a saying that "giving one's life to the mountains". Even if the usual road is blocked after rain, musk deer will not find a shortcut, but try their best to wade through it. Male animals began to secrete musk from 1 year old, and the peak period was 3-12 years old, but it took more than 8-1year old to form granular musk kernels. The formation and secretion of musk is a continuous process, but it is more obvious in the mating period of winter and early spring. Therefore, people also hunt wild musk deer at these times. Biologically, musk is a kind of pheromone (pheromone is a compound secreted by animal glands, which can transmit information between animals of the same species). Its fragrance is a means for musk deer to identify each other, increase communication and reduce communication with competitors, but it has a strong effect on attracting the opposite sex during breeding. Musk is not only a high-grade perfume, but also one of the most precious Chinese herbal medicines. Many famous Chinese patent medicines, such as Angong Niuhuang Pill, Dahuoluo Pill, Liushen Pill, Suhexiang Pill, Yunnan Baiyao, Suhexiang Pill and Xianggui Pill, all contain musk. Musk was first used as a medicine in Shennong Materia Medica. "Musk is pungent and warm, which can produce Sichuan and valleys, dispel evil spirits, kill ghosts and fine things, warm malaria, cure poison, epilepsy and spasm, remove three worms, and eliminate evil spirits after long-term administration." Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica says: "Moschus can unblock the disadvantages of various orifices, unblock the meridians", "unblock the meridians, unblock the muscles and bones, relieve alcohol poisoning and eliminate food accumulation of fruits and vegetables". Musk has a magical effect, which has strong functions of inducing resuscitation, promoting blood circulation and dredging channels, reducing swelling and relieving pain, and has obvious curative effects on many diseases such as stroke coma, convulsion, epilepsy, angina pectoris, carbuncle and swelling, sore throat and dystocia. (Musk has obvious exciting effect on uterus, which is contraindicated for pregnant women. Modern pharmacological studies have also proved that musk has a very obvious influence on the central nervous system, respiration, pulse and blood pressure, with a small dose of musk having an exciting effect and a large dose of musk having an inhibitory effect, and it has a curative effect on treating many diseases such as coronary heart disease, paralysis of lymph nodes caused by polio and so on. Western medicine often uses musk as cardiotonic, stimulant and other first-aid drugs. Musk has a strong smell and is different from other smells. Using musk alone, no matter how small the amount is, the smell is unpleasant, but if it is used in small amounts and matched with other spices, it can make the overall aroma more stable, and its strong effect of awakening the mind can make the aroma have a special sense of movement and "moving emotion". Musk is a famous specialty in China, which not only ranks first in the world in quality, but also accounts for more than 70% of the world's output. "Tibetan musk" has been a natural treasure that westerners dream of since ancient times. As early as the first century AD, ancient Rome had musk from Tibet. In ancient China, there were four major channels for foreign trade, namely, the North Silk Road, the South Silk Road, the Maritime Silk Road and the "Musk Road" passing through Tibet. ) To obtain 1 kg musk, it takes about 160 musk deer to be killed. Because the method of killing musk deer for fragrance has been used for generations, the wild musk deer resources are becoming less and less, so that the traces of musk deer are rarely seen in low altitude mountains. At present, there are about 600,000 musk deer in China, which is only one fifth of that in the 1950s. Both the musk deer, the black musk deer and the Himalayan musk deer, which live in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and produce high-quality musk, and the forest musk deer and the original musk deer, which are widely distributed, have become endangered species and have been listed as national second-class protected animals. At present, musk deer breeding industry no longer kills musk deer to obtain fragrance as in the past, but extracts musk kernel directly from the mouth of the sachet, which not only can be obtained for many times, but also greatly reduces the damage to wild populations. Long Xianxiang, Long Xianxiang: Long Xianxiang is a dried product of intestinal secretion of physeteridae animal sperm whale. Take it from the sperm whale to be slaughtered, and take its secretion from its intestine (that is, whale feces, which is the gray-black waxy excrement secreted by the gastrointestinal tract after the sperm whale swallows cuttlefish). It is sweet in taste, fishy in smell and astringent in nature, and has the effects of promoting circulation of qi and blood circulation, resolving stagnation and relieving pain, inducing diuresis and treating stranguria, regulating qi and resolving phlegm, etc. It can be used for treating cough, asthma, adverse qi movement, and chest pain. This product is the most precious traditional Chinese medicine in all kinds of animal excreta, which is extremely rare. Long Yanxiang was first discovered in ancient China. In the Han Dynasty, fishermen fished some waxy drifts in the sea, which was the finished product of Long Yanxiang after years of natural denaturation. From a few Kg to dozens of Kg, it has a strong fishy smell, but it can give off a lasting aroma after drying, and it is even more fragrant when it is ignited, which is more fragrant than musk. Some local officials contributed to the emperor in the presence of treasures after the acquisition, and used them as spices or medicines in the palace. At that time, no one knew what this treasure was, so they asked the "chemist" alchemist in the palace. They thought it was the saliva from the "dragon" in the sea when he was sleeping, which dripped into the sea and solidified. After a long time, it became "Long Xianxiang". With the progress of the times, the mysteries of nature have been uncovered. Everyone thinks that Long Xianxiang is the saliva of the "dragon", so there are all kinds of conjectures: some people think that it was formed by the eruption of submarine volcanoes; Some say that it is formed by the island and bird droppings floating into the water and weathering for a long time; Some people say that this is beeswax, which is generated by long floating in seawater; Others say it is a special kind of fungus. Long Xianxiang also aroused the interest of marine biologists. After continuous research, everyone thought it was a huge intestinal secretion of marine animals. As for what animal secreted it, it has not been clear. It was the fishermen on the Saudi Arabian island of Cautrat who really discovered Long Xianxiang's secret. Fishermen on this island mainly make a living by catching sperm whales. Long Yanxiang is actually the excrement of a sperm whale, which belongs to physeteridae, a suborder of Toothed Whales, and is the largest one in the suborder of Toothed Whales. The largest male is 23 meters long, and the female is 17 meters long, with a conical body, a barrel-shaped head accounting for about 1/3 of the body length, and a blunt upper jaw, far exceeding the lower jaw. Because of its huge head, it is also known as the "giant whale". Its head is so big that no creature can compare it! Once, an old fisherman found a piece of Long Xianxiang while cutting open the intestines of a sperm whale. At that time, fishermen thought it was swallowed from the sea, not in front of it. However, the news did not go away, which attracted the attention of marine biologists. They immediately conducted in-depth research and finally solved the mystery of Long Xianxiang. It turns out that big squid and octopus have tough horny jaws and tongue teeth in their mouths, which are not easy to digest. When sperm whales swallow large mollusks, jaws and tongue teeth accumulate in the gastrointestinal tract, which stimulates the intestines, and the intestines secrete a special wax, which wraps up the food residue and slowly forms Long Xianxiang. Scientists once found a clot of intestinal juice and foreign bodies in the intestine of a sperm whale18m long, which was considered as the beginning of Long Xianxiang. Scientists believe that some sperm whales will vomit the coagulated leaves, others will be excreted from the intestines, and only a few sperm whales will leave Long Xianxiang in their bodies. Long Xianxiang discharged into the sea was light black at first, and gradually turned gray, light gray and finally white under the action of seawater. White Long Xianxiang has the best quality. It must be soaked in seawater for more than 100 years to remove all impurities, so as to become the top grade in Long Xianxiang. Long Xianxiang taken from the intestines of the killed sperm whale is of no value. It has to float and soak in seawater for decades (Long Xianxiang is lighter than water and won't sink) to gain high status. Some Long Xianxiang pieces have been soaked in seawater for more than a hundred years. The highest price is white Long Xianxiang; The lowest value is brown, which has only been soaked in seawater for more than ten years. Since ancient times, Long Xianxiang has been used as a high-grade perfume. After the Long Xianxiang purchased by the perfume company is graded, it is ground into very fine powder, dissolved in alcohol, and then made into 5% Long Xianxiang solution, which is used to prepare perfume or as a fixative. Therefore, Long Xianxiang is expensive, almost equivalent to gold. 19 121February 3, a Norwegian whaling company caught a sperm whale in Australian waters, got a 455 kg Long Xianxiang from its intestines and sold it for a huge price of 23,000 pounds. 1955, a New Zealander found a gray Long Xianxiang weighing 7Kg on the beach and sold it for $26,000. If he found a white Long Xianxiang, it would be priceless. However, to identify Long Xianxiang, you must have relevant knowledge of biology, ecology and chemistry, and have long-term experience in dealing with the ocean, which is beyond the ordinary people's ability. Modern chemical experiments show that Long Xianxiang is a collection of polyterpene derivatives, most of which have attractive fragrance and cyclic molecular structure. Because of human's special interest in various fragrances, there is a great market demand for spices. As early as19th century, chemists determined the structures of most terpenoids, and isolated geraniol, linalool, anethole, sandalwood alcohol, borneol, etc. from natural essential oils, and carried out industrial production. Synthetic spices derived from benzene rings, such as benzoic acid, phenyl methyl acetate and phenylacetaldehyde, have also begun to be produced. 1920, Swiss chemists discovered the molecular structures of musk and geranone, and then American scientists invented the method of synthesizing macrocyclic esters to synthesize artificial musk. Now, all kinds of ingredients in Long Xianxiang can be synthesized artificially, but they can't completely replace Long Xianxiang, which is given to human beings by the sea, because human technology can't reach the wonder and harmony of nature at present, especially the dragon salivary steroid in natural Long Xianxiang, which will form a film on the skin after being added to perfume, which can make the fragrance last for a long time. At present, the international market of natural Long Xianxiang is completely controlled by France, a big perfume country. The purchase price per Kg is between1~ 45,000 francs, and the processed price of perfume companies is 6 Kg6~ 10/0,000 francs per kg. According to commercial data, the trade volume of Long Xianxiang in the world is 600Kg per year at its peak. With the massive killing of sperm whales by human beings, the resources of Long Xianxiang are decreasing year by year, and now the annual trade volume has been reduced to 100Kg, which is not good news for women and men who love perfume. The wonderful Long Xianxiang is the essence of nature, and the sea is a gift to people. In order to make the fragrance of Long Xianxiang last for generations, we must protect the marine environment, protect the sperm whales, let them multiply and grow in the sea, and constantly contribute the best fragrance to mankind-Long Xianxiang. Sperm whales live in tropical and subtropical waters, and they are the diving champions of cetaceans. Sperm whales are good at deep diving in order to find the king squid and octopus that inhabit the deep sea. People once found the mouthparts of the king squid as big as a child's head in the sperm whale. Due to the hard horny jaws and toothed tongues in the mouth of squid, it is difficult to digest. Sperm whales are stimulated to secrete Long Xianxiang in their intestines after swallowing squid. So far, Long Xianxiang has only been found in the abdomen of sperm whales. This gray or black pathological secretion can sometimes be discharged from sperm whales and float on the sea surface, and occasionally it will be washed up on the beach by the waves. Generally, each Long Xianxiang does not exceed several kilograms, and the largest known Long Xianxiang weighs 60 kilograms. Long Xianxiang is an important and extremely precious medicinal material. Long Xianxiang contains about 25% Long Xianxiang. Long Xianxiang is a cholesterol derivative and contains benzoic acid. In Compendium of Materia Medica, it is recorded that Long Xianxiang can "promote blood circulation, benefit essence, help Yang Dao and dredge blood vessels". Chinese medicine uses Long Xianxiang as a medicine for resolving phlegm, resolving hard mass, benefiting qi and promoting blood circulation. It can be seen that Long Xianxiang is a valuable Chinese medicine for treating diseases and strengthening the body. If the patient has symptoms such as cough, dysphoria, tightness in the chest and pain in the heart, Long Xianxiang 1 channel can be used for 3 doses, which can be taken at the end of grinding. Long Xianxiang element is the main component of Long Xianxiang fragrance. This extremely valuable Long Xianxiang, because its output in the world is too small to be synthesized artificially, has a value far exceeding that of gold. Long Xianxiang is the best of spices, and it is an indispensable "exotic fragrance" in high-grade perfume essence. The perfume essence prepared by using it is not only soft in fragrance, but also lasting and beautiful, so it is deeply loved by people. Cimaoxiang Herb Name: Cimaoxiang Content Description: Cimaoxiang (Pharmacology of Chinese Medicine) is a different name Cimaoyin (Herbs Supplement). The source is the secretion in the glandular sac of civet cat. Animal-shaped civet cats, also known as: Lei (Shan Hai Jing), Wen Li (Chu Ci), Ling Li (Yang Fu's Records of Foreign Bodies), Ling Li (A Collection of Materia Medica), Xiang Li (A Miscellany of Youyang), Xiang Li (A Miscellany of Dan and Lead), Shan Li (. The figure is slender, with a length of about 83 cm, a tail length of about 43 cm and a weight of about 8 kg. The snout is slightly sharp, and bristles are arranged beside the mouth. The limbs are short, the feet have five toes, and the claws are bent and slightly flexible. The perineum of both sexes has a fragrant gland sac, which can secrete strange fragrance. The whole body is grayish brown or light yellow, the head, forehead and lips are grayish white, and there are 3 black stripes from the neck side to the front shoulder, and 2 white stripes are sandwiched between them; There are 1 black longitudinal stripes from the center of the back to the tail base, and 1 white narrow stripes from the middle of the white back on both sides; Abdominal coat is light gray; The limbs are dark brown; The tail hair is thick and soft, between the narrow white ring and the wide black ring buckle, and the end is black. Habitat in the bushes. Staying in the daytime and going out at night, living alone, quick in action and sensitive in hearing. Omnivorous, feeding on small animals, birds, fish, frogs and crabs, as well as insects, wild fruits and poultry. China is from Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi Province in the north and Hainan Island in Guangdong Province in the south. It is distributed in Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the east and Sichuan and Yunnan in the west. The meat of this animal (civet cat meat) is also used for medicine, and another article is detailed. Collect civet cats, insert them into the fragrant gland sac of perineum with a horn spoon, and scrape out a thick liquid secretion, that is, civet cat incense. Take it every 2 ~ 3 days, and you can get a money every time. Fresh medicinal materials are honey-like thick liquid, which is white or yellowish white; After a long time, the color gradually changes, from yellow to brown, showing an ointment. Insoluble in water, only a part of alcohol can be dissolved, and the flame is invented when it is ignited. The smell is fragrant, and it smells like urine near it, and it smells like musk far away; It tastes bitter. It is better to use thick gas, white or light yellow, and evenly spread paper without particles. In addition to the above-mentioned varieties, there are also civet cats, also known as spotted civet cats, and the secretions in their scent glands are equally used as medicine. However, civet cats are small in size and have underdeveloped glandular sacs. The chemical composition contains a special ketone, feline. It also contains indole, fecal odor, ethylamine, propylamine and several unknown free acids. Sexual taste "Materia Medica": pungent, warm and non-toxic. Functions: Purging filth, promoting qi circulation and relieving pain. Treat heart pain and hernia pain. ① "Compendium of Materia Medica": evil in the main body, sudden pain in the heart, malaria, epidemic gas, calming the heart and calming the nerves. 2 "Kun Yu Tu Shuo": Treating ear diseases. Usage and dosage for oral administration: take pills and powder,1~ 2 points. External use: grinding and dressing. The secretion from castoreum sachet is milky white when it is fresh, and turns into brown resin after being stored in the sun for a long time. [Main ingredients] castoreum, benzoic acid, benzyl alcohol, acetophenone, borneol, p-methoxyacetophenone, p-ethylphenol, more than ten kinds of ammonia-containing compounds and lactones. [Aroma] Strong animal aroma, but inferior to civet cat, between civet cat and musk, and some "Russian leather" like, Gepeng like and ripe fig breath. Beavers inhabit small river banks or lakes and marshes, and the main producing areas are Canada, Himalayan Plateau, Siberia and other places. Both male and female beavers have two pear-shaped glandular sacs near the genitals, and the white milky viscous liquid is castoreum. The dried castoreum is brown resin. After dilution, castoreum has the warm aroma of Long Xianxiang like rock rose, with the burnt smell like birch tar. This burnt smell may be caused by drying the whole sachet with fire in the past, so it has become one of the characteristics of beaver aroma, so castoreum always carries obvious burnt smell, which is the biggest difference between castoreum and other animal spices. The main components are nitrogen-containing compounds such as alkaloids and pyrazine, which are mainly used as fixative for oriental flavors. Castoreum was also made into "castoreum tincture" and "aged" for several months before it was used to prepare essence.