Which Animal Does Musk Come From, Its Production Areas, Price Per Gram, and Harm to Women
Musk, also known as musk navelscent, Dangmenzi, and Siwei Chou, is the secretion from the scent gland sac of the male musk deer, a cervid animal. Because it has effects such as activating blood and unblocking meridians, relieving pain and dispersing blood stasis, it is widely used as medicine. However, due to its special nature, it can also cause some harm to the human body. So which animal does musk come from? Where is it produced? What is the market price per gram? What harm does it cause to women?
Musk is the dried secretion from the scent sac of the male forest musk deer, alpine musk deer, or Siberian musk deer, all cervid animals. Normally, male musk deer begin to secrete musk at two years old, with the optimal secretion period at around 10 years old, and each musk deer can secrete about 50 grams. After the scent sac is dried, the musk taken out by cutting open the sac appears as dark brown granular material. High-quality specimens sometimes also precipitate white crystals. In solid form, it has a strong foul odor, and after being highly diluted with water or alcohol, it has a unique animal fragrance.
Production area introduction:
Musk is a precious medicinal material unique to China. It is mainly produced in the Himalayas, Daxue Mountains, Shaluli Mountains, Ningjing Mountains, Queer Mountains, and other areas in the Tibet Autonomous Region. In addition, it is also produced in the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture's Li County, Songpan, and Maowen Qiang Autonomous County in Sichuan; the Hengduan Mountains, Dayao Mountains, and Damiao Mountains in Guizhou, Yunnan, and Guangxi; the Qilian Mountains, Minshan, Qinling Mountains, and Helan Mountains in Gansu and Shaanxi; the Dabie Mountains, Qianshan, and Huoshan in Anhui and Hubei; the Yinshan Mountains in Inner Mongolia; the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains and Changbai Mountains in Northeast China; and the Funiu Mountains in Henan and other mountainous forest areas. The Kang-Tibet Plateau and the Aba grasslands in Sichuan are the main production areas of Chinese musk, which is sold throughout the country and exported.
Latest market price:
Natural musk is formed by drying the secretion from the male gland sac of the cervid musk deer. Common musk on the market is divided into artificial and natural types. Artificial synthetic musk is cheaper, while natural musk is relatively more expensive. The price of artificial synthetic musk ranges from over ten yuan to several tens of yuan per gram, while the market price of natural musk ranges from over 200 yuan to several hundred yuan per gram, which is closely related to the purity and content of the musk.
Harm to humans:
Harm to women:
It can cause miscarriage in women, but the claim that it causes infertility lacks scientific basis. Musk is a central nervous system stimulant. In Western medicine, it is made into emergency medicines such as cardiotonics and stimulants. In traditional Chinese medicine, it has functions such as dispersing blood stasis, relaxing smooth muscle, and promoting labor and delivery, that is, abortion. It is a prohibited drug for pregnant women. Research also shows that natural musk can stimulate the uterus, intensify uterine contractions, and has anti-implantation and anti-early-pregnancy effects, that is, a contraceptive effect, but this effect is not immediate. Only long-term use will produce a contraceptive effect.
Harm to men:
1. Respiratory system: shallow and irregular breathing, cold limbs, bluish face, coma, and even respiratory arrest.
2. Urinary system: causes acute renal failure, anuria, obvious edema of both lower limbs and face, significantly increased urinary protein and urinary red blood cells, and even death; or aggravates the condition of patients with chronic nephritis.
3. Digestive system: erosion of oral mucosa and pharynx, foreign body sensation in the mouth, tooth loss, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea.
4. Blood system: epistaxis, gingival bleeding, hematemesis, hemafecia, hematuria, and widespread petechiae throughout the body.
5. Others: external use can cause local tissue necrosis.
Actually, the toxicity of both musk and muscone is very low. However, there are reports of 2 cases of acute renal failure caused by musk poisoning; there are also reports of allergies caused by external use of musk ointment.
6. Improper medication:
Ancient physicians believed that it should not be used by those with yang excess and yin deficiency, rising without descending, or deficiency of the blood sea with chills, fever, and night sweats. Nowadays, musk is mostly used in medicine in combination with other drugs to make pills. Indications should be well understood to avoid the phenomenon of medicine not matching the syndrome. Therefore, it is necessary to be careful when consuming musk. Do not consume it casually, so as to avoid effects on various organs of the body.
Identification of authenticity:
1. Visual inspection: genuine musk is brownish or yellowish-brown, with occasional square columnar octahedra or irregular crystals in the clumps, no sharp angles, and visible round oil droplets.
2. Taste: genuine musk has a prickling sensation on the tongue when tasted, with a cool flavor reaching the base of the tongue, a pure taste, and no fishy or foul odor.
3. Smell: genuine musk has a distinctive aroma that lingers for a long time. If there is no strong fragrance, or if there is a fishy or foul smell, it is fake.
4. Hand kneading: take a small amount of genuine musk and mix it evenly with an appropriate amount of water. If it does not lose color, does not stain the hands, does not stick to the hands, and does not clump, it is genuine; otherwise, it is fake.
5. Burning: place genuine musk on tin foil and heat it indirectly. A slight flame can be seen, blue smoke rises in a straight line, and jumping, writhing, bursting, or crackling sounds occur.
6. Boiling water test: genuine musk placed in boiling water will rotate rapidly and then gradually boil, tumble, and dissolve. If it floats on the water surface or sinks to the bottom without moving and does not dissolve, it is fake.