Castoreum

Castoreum /kæsˈtɔːriəm/ is a yellowish exudate from the castor sacs of the mature North American beaver (Castor canadensis) and the European beaver (Castor fiber).

For the fungus genus, see Castoreum (fungus).
Castoreum

Beavers use castoreum in combination with urine to scent mark their territory.[1][2] Both beaver sexes have a pair of castor sacs and a pair of anal glands, located in two cavities under the skin between the pelvis and the base of the tail.[3] The castor sacs are not true glands (endocrine or exocrine) on a cellular level, hence references to these structures as preputial glands, castor glands, or scent glands are misnomers.[4]

It is used as a tincture in some perfumes[5] and was sometimes used as a food additive in the early 1900s.[6]

The sacs brought CA$2.62–5.10 per ounce when auctioned at the May–June 2016 North American Fur Auction.[7]

Chemical composition

At least 24 compounds are known constituents of beaver castoreum. Several of these have pheromonal activity, of which the phenols 4-ethylphenol and catechol and the ketones acetophenone and 3-hydroxyacetophenone were strongest. Five additional compounds elicit a weaker response: 4-methylcatechol, 4-methoxyacetophenone, 5-methoxysalicylic acid, salicylaldehyde, and 3-hydroxybenzoic acid.[8] There are also oxygen-containing monoterpenes such as 6-methyl-l-heptanol, 4,6-dimethyl-l-heptanol, isopinocamphone, pinocamphone, and two linalool oxides and their acetates.[9] Other compounds are: benzoic acid, benzyl alcohol, borneol, o-cresol, 4-(4'-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butanone, hydroquinone, phenol. All those compounds are gathered from plant food.[10] It also contains nupharamine alkaloids[11] and castoramine,[12] and cis-cyclohexane-1,2-diol.[13]

Uses

In perfume
American Beavers at the Smithsonian National Zoo, in Washington, D.C.

In perfumery, the term castoreum refers to the resinoid extract resulting from the dried and alcohol tinctured beaver castor.[14] The dried beaver castor sacs are generally aged for two or more years to mellow.

Castoreum is largely used for its note suggesting leather, typically compounded with other ingredients including top, middle, and base notes. Some classic perfumes incorporating castor are Emeraude, Chanel Antaeus, Cuir de Russie, Magie Noire, Lancôme Caractère, Hechter Madame, Givenchy III, Shalimar, and many "leather" themed compositions.[5]

In food

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration lists castoreum extract as a generally recognized as safe (GRAS) food additive.[15] In 1965, the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association's GRAS program (FEMA 2261 and 2262) added castoreum extract and castoreum liquid.[16] The annual industry consumption is very low, around 300 pounds,[17] whereas vanillin is over 2.6 million pounds annually.[18]

Castoreum has been traditionally used in Sweden for flavoring a variety of schnapps commonly referred to as "Bäverhojt" (literally, beaver shout).[19][20]

Other

Castoreum was also considered for use to contribute to the flavor and odor of cigarettes.[21]

Medieval beekeepers used castoreum to increase honey production.[10]

  • Taxea, a secretion of the badger's subcaudal glands comparable in its medicinal use to the better-known castoreum
  • Hyraceum, the petrified and rock-like excrement composed of urine and feces excreted by the cape hyrax (Procavia capensis), and a sought-after material that has been used in traditional South African medicine and perfumery

See also

References
  1. Walro, J.M. and Svendsen, G.E., "Castor sacs and anal glands of the North American beaver (Castor canadensis): their histology, development, and relationship to scent communication" Journal of Chemical Ecology, Volume 8, Number 5 / May 1982, Department of Zoology and Microbiology, Ohio University,
  2. Müller-Schwarze, Dietland (1992). "Castoreum of beaver (Castor canadensis): function, chemistry and biological activity of its components" Chemical Signals in Vertebrates IV, 457–464, Plenum Press.
  3. Johnston, Robert E.; Sorenson, Peter W.; and Müller-Schwarze, Dietland (1999). Advances in Chemical Signals in Vertebrates, Springer, 1, 282. ISBN 0-306-46114-5.
  4. Svendsen, G.E., Huntsman, W.D, "A field Assay of Beaver Castoreum and Some of its Components" American Midland Naturalist, Vol. 120, No. 1 (Jul., 1988), pp. 144–149, University of Notre Dame.
  5. International Perfume Museum, Grasse, France, Website: "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-06-24. Retrieved 2006-02-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. Burdock, G. A. (2007-01-01). "Safety assessment of castoreum extract as a food ingredient". International Journal of Toxicology. 26 (1): 51–55. doi:10.1080/10915810601120145. ISSN 1091-5818. PMID 17365147.
  7. "May-June 2016 Wild Fur Sales Report North American Fur Auctions" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-22. Retrieved 21 February 2016 – via Fur Institute of Canada.
  8. Pheromonal activity of single castoreum constituents in beaver, Castor canadensis., Müller-Schwarze, D and Houlihan, P.W., Journal of Chemical Ecology, April 1991, Volume 17, Number 4, Springer Netherlands, doi:10.1007/BF00994195
  9. Neutral compounds from male castoreum of North American beaver, Castor canadensis. Rong Tang, Francis X. Webster, Dietland Müller-Schwarze, Journal of Chemical Ecology, November 1995, Volume 21, Issue 11, pages 1745–1762, doi:10.1007/BF02033674
  10. The Beaver: Its Life and Impact. Dietland Muller-Schwarze, 2003, page 43 (book at Google Books)
  11. Stereoselective synthesis of enantiomerically pure nupharamine alkaloids from castoreum. Stoye A, Quandt G, Brunnhöfer B, Kapatsina E, Baron J, Fischer A, Weymann M and Kunz H, Angew Chem Int Ed Engl., 2009, volume 48, issue 12, pages 2228–2230, doi:10.1002/anie.200805606
  12. Zur Kenntnis der stickstoffhaltigen Inhaltsstoffe von Castoreum. B. Maurer and G. Ohloff, Helvetica Chimica Acta, 2 June 1976, Volume 59, Issue 4, pages 1169–1185, doi:10.1002/hlca.19760590420
  13. cis-Cyclohexane-1,2-diol in the beaver gland. Z. Valenta, A. Khaleque, M. H. Rashid, Experientia, 1961, Volume 17, Issue 3, page 130, doi:10.1007/BF02160827
  14. Hyraceum.com, "Castoreum, Perfumer's Ancient Intrigue," http://www.hyraceum.com Archived February 7, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  15. Burdock GA (2007). "Safety assessment of castoreum extract as a food ingredient". International Journal of Toxicology. 26 (1): 51–5. doi:10.1080/10915810601120145. PMID 17365147.
  16. Recent Progress In the Consideration Under of Flavoring Ingredients the Food Additives Amendment (1965)
  17. Burdock, George A., Fenaroli's handbook of flavor ingredients. CRC Press, 2010. p. 273-5.
  18. Burdock, George A., Fenaroli's handbook of flavor ingredients. CRC Press, 2010. p. 674.
  19. Baron Ambrosia (26 February 2015). "Tales from the Fringe: Beaver Gland Vodka". PunchDrink.com. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  20. "BVR HJT". Archived from the original on 2013-08-26. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  21. United States Patent Application Publication
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