Civet (''Zibeth''; ''Zibet''; ''Zibetum''), also known as civet

musk Musk is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial substances with similar odors. ' ...

and civet oil, is the

gland A gland is a Cell (biology), cell or an Organ (biology), organ in an animal's body that produces and secretes different substances that the organism needs, either into the bloodstream or into a body cavity or outer surface. A gland may also funct ...

ular secretion produced by both sexes of

Viverridae Viverridae is a family (biology), family of small to medium-sized feliform mammals, comprising 14 genera with 33 species. This family was named and first described by John Edward Gray in 1821. Viverrids occur all over Africa, in southern Europe, ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

Production

A number of viverrid species secrete civet oil in their perineal glands, including the

African civet The African civet (''Civettictis civetta'') is a large viverrid native to sub-Saharan Africa, where it is considered common and widely distributed in woodlands and secondary forests. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2008 ...

(''Civettictis civetta''),

large Indian civet The large Indian civet (''Viverra zibetha'') is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The global population is thought to be decreasing due to hunting and trapping driven by the deman ...

(''Viverra zibetha''), and

small Indian civet The small Indian civet (''Viverricula indica'') is a civet native to South and Southeast Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because of its widespread distribution, widespread habitat use and healthy populations living in agr ...

(''Viverricula indica''). Most civet is produced in African farms, where African civets are kept in cages for this purpose. African civets typically produce three to four grams of civet per week. In 2000, civet sold for about five hundred dollars per kilogram. Civet is a soft, almost liquid material. It is pale yellow when fresh, darkening in the light and becoming

salve A salve is a medical ointment used to soothe the skin. Medical uses Magnesium sulphate paste is used as a drawing salve to treat small boils and infected wounds and to remove 'draw' small splinters. Black ointment, or Ichthyol Salve, also ca ...

-like in consistency. Its odor is strong, even putrid as a pure substance, but once diluted it is pleasantly and sweetly aromatic. It is prepared for use in perfumery by

solvent extraction A solvent (from the Latin language, Latin ''wikt:solvo#Latin, solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a Solution (chemistry), solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas ...

to yield either a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

(10 or 20 percent), an

absolute Absolute may refer to: Companies * Absolute Entertainment, a video game publisher * Absolute Radio, (formerly Virgin Radio), independent national radio station in the UK * Absolute Software Corporation, specializes in security and data risk ma ...

, or a resinoid.

Composition

The chemical in civet oil that gives it most of its distinctive odor is

civetone Civetone is a macrocyclic ketone and the main odorous constituent of civet oil. It is a pheromone sourced from the African civet. It has a strong musky odor that becomes pleasant at extreme dilutions. Civetone is closely related to muscone, the ...

, at a concentration of between 2.5 and 3.4%. The oil also includes various other

ketone In organic chemistry, a ketone is an organic compound with the structure , where R and R' can be a variety of carbon-containing substituents. Ketones contain a carbonyl group (a carbon-oxygen double bond C=O). The simplest ketone is acetone ( ...

s such as cyclopentadecanone,

cyclohexadecanone Cyclohexadecanone is an organic compound with the formula (CH2)15CO. It is a cyclic ketone, which is a minor component of the musk scent of the civet A civet () is a small, lean, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, e ...

, cycloheptadecanone, and 6-''cis''-cycloheptadecenone. The animal scent is reinforced by the presence of smaller amounts of

indole Indole is an organic compound with the formula . Indole is classified as an aromatic heterocycle. It has a bicyclic structure, consisting of a six-membered benzene ring fused to a five-membered pyrrole ring. Indoles are derivatives of indole ...

and

skatole Skatole or 3-methylindole is an organic compound belonging to the indole family. It occurs naturally in the feces of mammals and birds and is the primary contributor to fecal odor. In low concentrations, it has a flowery smell and is found in sever ...

, which in African civet are present at a concentration of about 1%.

Uses

Civet has a distinctly different odor from

and was formerly a versatile ingredient of fine fragrances. It is being displaced by 5-cyclohexadecen-1-one (Ambretone) which is more easily synthesized. Civet

( CAS# 68916-26-7) is used as a flavor and in perfumery.

Safety

The United States does not allow civets to be imported, as the species can transmit the

SARS Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the virus SARS-CoV-1, the first identified strain of the SARS-related coronavirus. The first known cases occurred in November 2002, and the ...

virus. The US does however permit the importation of civet oil, as long as it has been treated to ensure it is noninfectious.

Name

The name derives from the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

زباد ''zabād'' or سنور الزباد ''sinnawr al-zabād'', civet cat (''Viverra civetta''), by way of

Old Italian Italian (, , or , ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family. It evolved from the colloquial Latin of the Roman Empire. Italian is the least divergent language from Latin, together with Sardinian. It is spoken by about 6 ...

''zibetto'' and

Middle French Middle French () is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the mid-14th to the early 17th centuries. It is a period of transition during which: * the French language became clearly distinguished from the other co ...

''civette and Ethiopian name ዝባድ (Zibad)'' .

History

The 10th-century Arab historian

al-Masudi al-Masʿūdī (full name , ), –956, was a historian, geographer and traveler. He is sometimes referred to as the "Herodotus of the Arabs". A polymath and prolific author of over twenty works on theology, history (Islamic and universal), geo ...

mentioned civet (''zabāda'') as a spice in his book ''Murūdj al-dhahab'' ('Meadows of Gold'). Civet was among the many trade items that caravans, controlled by the

Ghana empire The Ghana Empire (), also known as simply Ghana, Ghanata, or Wagadu, was an ancient western-Sahelian empire based in the modern-day southeast of Mauritania and western Mali. It is uncertain among historians when Ghana's ruling dynasty began. T ...

, carried from the

Niger valley Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state bordered by Libya to the north-east, Chad to the east, Nigeria to the south, Benin and Burkina Faso to the south-west, Mali to the wes ...

to North Africa, including

Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

References

{{reflist, 2 Animal glandular products Flavors Perfume ingredients