Muscone

Muscone is an organic compound that is the primary contributor to the odor of musk.

The chemical structure of muscone was first elucidated by Lavoslav Ružička. It consists of a 15-membered ring ketone with one methyl substituent in the 3-position. It is an oily liquid which is found naturally as the (-)-enantiomer, but synthetic material is typically a racemate. It is very slightly soluble in water and miscible with alcohol.

Natural muscone is obtained from musk, a glandular secretion of the musk deer, which has been used in perfumery and medicine for thousands of years. Since obtaining natural musk requires killing the endangered animal, nearly all muscone used in perfumery today is synthetic.