Musk Incense

Botanical Name: Hibiscus Abelmoschus

Common Names: Musk Dana, Kasturi Bhindi, Musk Mallow, Kattu Kasturi.

Major Producers: India (Though occurring in Egypt, Ecuador, East and West Indies)

Aroma: Musk is Musk! : Sharp, spicy with a sweetish undertone .

Part of plant used to make incense: Seeds and Roots.

Description and History: Historically, Musk fragrance is associated with princely tales from the Indian sub-continent. The Musk Deer -- Moschus Moschiferus, native to India and the Dwarf Musk Deer- Moschus Berezovskii native to China were hunted to near extinction to extract its unique navel fragrance gland.

Hibiscus Abelmoschus is a tropical weedy shrub native to India and Ecuador valued for its scented seed. Musk Dana is a close relative to Okra (Bamya, Bhindi Ladies Finger etc.), a popular horticultural crop. In India, the area under Musk Seed is increasing rapidly with seed exports to France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Spain for its use as an aromatic oil. Indian drug manufacturers are introducing new herbal drugs containing Musk for medicinal use.

Amoretti oil obtained from seeds possess an odour similar to that of musk and its aromatic constituents have long been used in perfumery industry. Different grades of essential, or aromatic absolute, are marked in Europe as high-grade perfumes

Principal Aromatic constituents: Ambrettelide, various Farnesyls(Trans & Cis), Trans Farnesol.

Aromatic / Medicinal properties: Antiseptic, Antispasmodic, Carminative, Aphrodisiac, Deodorant

Himalayan Musk Rose(Rosa Muschato) is another species containing the same aromatic compounds, though in a much less quantity.

Contemporary Applications: Musk was formerly regarded as a powerful stimulant to the medulla, and good results have been obtained from its use in cases of collapse.

In the National and International market, the oil is known as Ambrette oil. Musk seeds hold a reputed position in the Indian systems of Medicine. As per Auyurveda, the seeds are cooling, carminative, aphrodisiac, tonic and useful in intestinal complaints, stomatitis and diseases of the heart.

According to Unani system of Medicine, the seeds are tonic and stomachic and useful in burning thirst, leucoderma, itch, gonorrhoea, urinary discharge, dyspepsia etc. Its roots and leaves are used for the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. (Agharkar 1991).

Even use against venomous reptiles has been reported (Lindley 1985).

Making Musk Incense: For making Musk Incense, Dry Musk Turmeric roots (Curcuma Aromatica Salisb) are ground with other resins and topped of with Pure Musk Oil derived from seeds of Musk Mallow (Hibiscus Abelmoschus) .

Wild Turmeric, Musk Turmeric or "Kasturi kettu" as known in the tribal areas of the tropical rain forests of South India also contain identical aromatic components as Musk Mallow, producing identical fragrance. The generic term "Kasthuri" in many Indian languages is synonymous to Musk.

The fine tuning of the fragrance is done by adding calibrated amounts of pure Musk essential oil to the incense mixture.