Musk – 1 lb (454 g)

Musk, known in Chinese as 麝香 (Shèxiāng) and scientifically as Moschus, is a valued herb in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This TCM herb has been traditionally used to support natural wellness, maintain vitality, and encourage holistic balance. At TCMforyou.com, we provide premium-quality Musk carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

As a herbal supplement, Musk helps promote overall well-being and supports natural energy, immunity, and balance. Integrating this herb into your wellness routine offers a gentle, time-tested approach to enhancing daily health. Whether brewed as tea, added to herbal remedies, or taken as part of a TCM formula, Musk provides a safe, natural way to experience the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine.

Trusted for centuries, Musk has been used in TCM to harmonize the body and encourage optimal functioning of key systems. At TCMforyou, we prioritize authenticity and quality. Each batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure purity and potency, delivering an herbal product aligned with traditional practices.

Experience the natural support of Musk, promoting immune health, vitality, and holistic well-being. Embrace the wisdom of TCM and incorporate this gentle, effective herbal remedy into your daily wellness journey.

[Overview] This product is also known as Qixiang, Dangmenzi, Sheqixiang, Yuancunxiang. It is the dried secretion from the mature male scent glands of musk deer species in the family Cervidae: Moschus berezovskii Flerov (Forest Musk Deer), Moschus sifanicus Przewalski (Siberian Musk Deer), or Moschus moschiferus Linnaeus (True Musk Deer). The main production areas are Tibet, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces, with additional production in Shaanxi, Gansu, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Anhui. Wild musk deer are mostly hunted from winter to the following spring; after capture, the scent gland is cut out and air-dried, commonly called “Maoqiao Musk”; when the gland is opened and the musk shell removed, it is called “Musk Kernel.” Domestic musk deer have the musk kernel directly taken from their scent glands, then air-dried or dried in sealed drying equipment.

[Properties] Pungent in taste, warm in nature. Enters the Heart, Liver, and Spleen meridians.

[Actions] Opens orifices and awakens the spirit; invigorates blood and disperses stasis; relieves pain and reduces swelling.

[Applications]
1. Used for closed patterns with loss of consciousness, applicable for both cold closure and heat closure. For example, in warm disease with heat invading the pericardium, phlegm-heat blocking the heart orifices, pediatric convulsions, and stroke with phlegm-induced heat closure and loss of consciousness, it is often combined with Niuhuang (Calculus Bovis), Borneolum (Bingpian), Cinnabaris (Zhusha), etc., in formulas such as Zhibao Dan and Angong Niuhuang Wan. For stroke with sudden loss of consciousness, chest and abdominal fullness and pain due to cold turbidity or phlegm-damp obstructing qi mechanism, causing cold closure and loss of consciousness, it is often combined with Suhe Xiang (Styrax), Tan Xiang (Sandalwood), An Xi Xiang (Benzoin), in formulas such as Suhe Xiang Wan.
2. Used for blood stasis causing amenorrhea, abdominal masses (Zhengjia), acute heart and abdominal pain, traumatic injuries, and painful numbness due to Bi syndrome. For blood stasis causing amenorrhea and abdominal masses, it can be combined with Tao Ren (Persicae Semen), Hong Hua (Carthami Flos), San Leng (Sparganii Rhizoma), E Zhu (Curcumae Rhizoma), Chuan Shan Jia (Manis Squama), etc. For acute heart and abdominal pain due to cold, it is combined with Fu Zi (Aconiti Radix Lateralis Preparata) and Rou Gui (Cinnamomi Cortex); for heat-related pain, it is combined with Xi Jiao (Rhinoceri Cornu, substituted by Shui Niu Jiao – Water Buffalo Horn) and Niuhuang (Calculus Bovis). For cold congealing qi stagnation and blood stasis causing heart pain, it is often combined with Wu Zhu Yu (Evodiae Fructus), Mu Xiang (Aucklandiae Radix), Tao Ren, etc., in formulas such as She Xiang Tang. For traumatic injuries with blood stasis and swelling pain, it can be ground with Xue Jie (Daemonorops Resin), Hong Hua, Ru Xiang (Olibanum), Mo Yao (Myrrha) for internal and external use, as in Qi Li San. For chronic joint pain with wandering pain like insect bites, worse at night, it is often combined with Chuan Wu (Aconiti Radix), Quan Xie (Scorpio), Di Long (Pheretima), in formulas such as She Xiang Wan.
3. Used for carbuncles, ulcers, and sore throat. Effective for treating ulcerated swellings and toxic sores, both internally and externally, often combined with Xiong Huang (Realgar), Mo Yao, Ru Xiang, as in Xing Xiao Wan; for sore throat, it can be combined with Niuhuang, Chan Chu (Bufo Toad), Zhen Zhu (Pearl), as in Liu Shen Wan. Additionally, this product can be used for leucorrhea, scrofula, phlegm nodules, breast cancer, and poisonous snake bites.

[Dosage and Administration] Internal use: incorporated into pills or powders, 0.03–0.1 g; generally not used in decoctions. External use: appropriate amount, ground into powder and mixed for topical application or incorporated into plasters for external application.

[Cautions] Contraindicated in pregnancy.

[Modern Research]
1. Chemical Constituents: Forest musk contains muscone, muscopyridine, male hormones, cholesterol, and cholesterol esters; Siberian musk contains cholesterol and cholesterol esters; True musk mainly contains muscone, muscopyridine, hydroxy muscopyridine A, hydroxy muscopyridine B, and other large molecular pentacyclic ketones.
2. Pharmacological Actions: Aqueous extracts of musk show significant anti-inflammatory effects; exhibit dual excitatory and inhibitory effects on the central nervous system—small doses excite, large doses inhibit—and enhance CNS hypoxia tolerance; natural musk has a marked cardiotonic effect, enhancing myocardial function and lowering blood pressure; shows clear excitatory effects on isolated uteri of rabbits, rats, and guinea pigs; exhibits androgen-like effects—in castrated rats, injection of musk ether extract increases prostate and seminal vesicle weights; natural musk or muscone inhibits Ehrlich ascites carcinoma, mouse sarcoma S37 and S180 cells; also inhibits tumor cells in homogenates of human esophageal squamous carcinoma, gastric adenocarcinoma, colon carcinoma, and bladder carcinoma; protein components in musk can increase IgM antibodies and enhance immune hemolysis in mice; diluted tincture of musk externally inhibits growth of Vibrio cholerae, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus.
3. Clinical Reports: 1) Asthma: Using a plaster made from Bai Jie Zi (Sinapis Semen), Xuan Hu (Curcumae Radix), etc., spread 1 g into a small plaster, sprinkled with musk, applied to acupuncture points for 6–10 hours every 7–10 days, 3 applications per course. Treated 312 cases with a total effective rate over 96%. Efficacy for bronchial asthma was higher than for asthmatic bronchitis. Contraindicated in pregnancy and febrile patients. [Chinese Journal of Medical Pharmacy, 1989,(1):41] 2) Chronic Prostatitis: Patients lie supine, navel cleaned, 0.15 g musk powder placed into the navel, covered with powder of 7 ground peppercorns, covered with round white paper and fixed with adhesive tape. Changed every 7–10 days, 10 times per course. Treated 11 cases: 6 cured, 3 improved, 2 discontinued treatment. [Jiangxi Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1984,(2):26] 3) Chronic Hepatitis and Early Liver Cirrhosis: 5% musk injection administered alternately at bilateral Zhangmen and Qimen acupuncture points, 2 ml per injection (equivalent to 100 mg crude drug), once every 7 days, 4 weeks per course. Treated 32 cases with significant symptom improvement and biochemical index enhancement. [Tianjin Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1987,(5):20]