Synonym name:
Catalogue No.: BP0968
Cas No.: 541-91-3
Formula: C₁₆H₃₀O
Mol Weight: 238.415
Botanical Source:

Purity: 95%~99%
Analysis Method: HPLC-DAD or/and HPLC-ELSD
Identification Method: Mass, NMR
Packing: Brown vial or HDPE plastic bottle
Can be supplied from milligrams to grams.

For Reference Standard and R&D, Not for Human Use Directly.
Inquire for bulk scale.

HPLC of Muscone

Storage conditions：Short-term storage at 2~8℃, long-term storage at -20 ~ -80℃

Introduction/Overview

Muscone (CAS No.: 541-91-3) is the main active ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine musk. As a natural terpene compound, it has attracted much attention for its unique aroma and significant biological activity. Since ancient times, musk has been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, open the orifices and awaken the mind, and treat various diseases such as anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. With the development of modern pharmacology and molecular biology techniques, the pharmacological effects of musk ketone have gradually been revealed, especially with its potential value in inflammation regulation, neuroprotection, and cardiovascular diseases becoming increasingly prominent. This paper systematically reviews the chemical structure, physicochemical properties, plant origin, and extraction methods of muskone, focusing on its pharmacological activity and mechanism of action, evaluating its druggability and pharmacokinetic characteristics, and finally looking ahead to its clinical application prospects to provide theoretical basis and reference for subsequent research and development.

Chemical structure and physicochemical properties

Musk ketone is a typical cyclopentanone terpene ketone, with a molecular formula of C_16H_30O and a molecular weight of 238.4150. Its chemical structure features a cyclopentanone backbone, with a ketone group in the molecule, making it relatively stable. The LogP value of musk ketone is 5.3256, indicating strong lipid solubility, which helps it penetrate lipid membranes, especially the blood-brain barrier (BBB), thereby exerting central nervous system function. Its polar surface area (TPSA) is 17.0700, indicating low polarity and extremely poor water solubility (0.0062 mg/mL), which poses challenges for its bioavailability and administration methods. The hERG channel inhibition test was negative, indicating a low risk of cardiotoxicity. Ames mutagenicity test result was 0.0, indicating that muskone has no obvious mutagenicity and is relatively safe.

Plant Origins and Extraction Methods

Musk ketone mainly originates from the traditional Chinese medicinal herb musk, which is the secretion of the musk sacs of musk animals, giving it a unique aromatic scent. Due to the limited natural musk resources and the restrictions on animal protection regulations, modern research mostly uses chemical or biosynthetic technologies to obtain musk ketone. Additionally, some plants have been reported to contain structurally similar musk ketone compounds, but at lower levels and without large-scale utilization value.

Traditionally, the extraction of musk ketone has mainly relied on solvent extraction and distillation separation of musk. Modern extraction methods include supercritical CO_2 extraction, liquid-liquid extraction, and chromatographic purification technologies, which can effectively improve the purity and recovery rate of musk ketone. In terms of synthetic routes, organic synthesis methods based on cyclopentanone frameworks are relatively mature and can meet both pharmaceutical and industrial needs.

Pharmacological activity research

Anti-inflammatory effects

Musk ketone demonstrates significant anti-inflammatory activity across various inflammation models. It mainly works by inhibiting the nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) signaling pathway and activating the NLRP3 inflammatory body, reducing the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6, thereby alleviating the inflammatory response. Relevant in vivo and in vitro experiments have shown that muskone can reduce the release of inflammatory mediators, alleviate tissue damage, and improve the pathological state of inflammation-related diseases.

Neuroprotective effects

Research on muskone in the field of neuroprotection is increasing. By modulating various neuroprotection-related targets such as BCL2, APP, BACE1, MAPT, SIRT1, MAPK1, ACHE, CASP3, SNCA, and NRF2, it exerts antioxidant, anti-apoptotic, neuroinflammation-inhibiting, and neuroregenerative effects. Musk ketone can reduce nerve cell damage, slow the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, and show potential in treating neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Cardiovascular protective effects

Research has confirmed that muskone significantly improves heart function and survival rates by inhibiting inflammatory responses and oxidative stress. Its mechanism includes inhibiting NF-κB-mediated inflammatory pathways, reducing cardiomyocyte apoptosis, and promoting myocardial repair. Animal models show that muskone can alleviate myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury and improve cardiac function indicators, suggesting its value in cardiovascular diseases.

Other pharmacological effects

In addition to the main effects mentioned above, muskone also exhibits certain analgesic, antibacterial, and immunomodulatory activities, but related research is still in its early stages and urgently requires further systematic validation.

Mechanism of action and molecular targets

The multi-target mechanism of musk ketone forms the basis of its pharmacological activity. Its core mechanisms mainly include:

1. Inhibition of NF-κB signaling pathway: Musketone blocks NF-κB from entering the nucleus by inhibiting phosphorylation and degradation of IκBα, reducing the transcription of inflammatory genes and thereby lowering the expression of inflammatory factors such as IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6.

2. Inhibition of NLRP3 Inflammatory Body Activation: NLRP3 inflammatory somes are important regulators of inflammatory responses. Musk ketones can block their assembly and activation, reducing the maturation and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

3. Regulation of neuroprotective targets:

4. BCL2: Enhances the expression of anti-apoptotic proteins, protecting nerve cells from apoptosis.
5. APP and BACE1: Reduce β-amyloid protein production and slow pathological progression of Alzheimer's disease.
6. MAP (Tau protein): Inhibits abnormal phosphorylation of Tau protein, preventing the formation of nerve fiber tangles.
7. SIRT1: Activates deacetylase, promoting cell survival and antioxidant reactions.
8. MAPK1: Regulates cellular stress responses and promotes cell survival.
9. ACHE: Inhibits acetylcholinesterase activity, improving neurotransmission efficiency.
10. CASP3: Inhibits caspase-3, reduces apoptosis.
11. SNCA (α-synuclein): prevents abnormal aggregation and slows the progression of Parkinson's disease.

12. NRF2: Activates antioxidant responses and reduces oxidative stress damage.

13. Antioxidant effect: By activating the NRF2 pathway, it enhances the expression of intracellular antioxidant enzymes, eliminates free radicals, and protects cells from oxidative damage.

In summary, muskone exerts its broad pharmacological effects through the synergistic action of multiple targets and multiple pathways.

Druggability evaluation and pharmacokinetics

Efficacy evaluation

Musketone's high lipid solubility (LogP 5.3256) and low polarity (TPSA 17.07) make it easy to penetrate cell membranes and the blood-brain barrier, giving it promising central nervous system drug potential. Its extremely low water solubility (0.0062 mg/mL) limits oral bioavailability, requiring optimization of drug formulations or novel delivery systems to improve absorption efficiency.

In terms of safety, muskone does not inhibit hERG channels, reducing the risk of cardiotoxicity; The Ames test was negative, indicating no significant genotoxicity and good safety.

Pharmacokinetics

Currently, pharmacokinetic research on musk ketone is relatively limited, but studies have shown that it is absorbed orally quickly, widely distributed, and especially effective in entering brain tissue. Its metabolism mainly occurs through the hepatic enzyme system, and its metabolites still require further identification. The main excretion routes are bile and urine. In the future, systematic in vivo pharmacokinetics and toxicology studies are needed to clarify their metabolic kinetics and safe dose ranges.

Prospects and outlooks for clinical applications

Musk ketone, with its significant anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and cardiovascular protective effects, shows broad clinical application prospects. Musketone holds potential drug development value especially in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases (such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's), cardiovascular diseases, and chronic inflammatory diseases.

Future research should focus on the following aspects:

1. Drug formulation optimization: Overcoming limitations of poor water solubility, developing new drug delivery systems such as nanocarriers, liposomes, and solid dispersions to improve bioavailability.

2. In-depth mechanism research: Using multi-omics technology to reveal the comprehensive network of action of musk ketone, clarifying the interactions between its targets and signaling pathways.

3. Systematic pharmacokinetics and safety evaluation: Conduct long-term toxicological studies to clarify safe dosages and potential side effects.

4. Clinical trial advancement: Based on sufficient preliminary pharmacological and toxicological data, design a reasonable clinical trial protocol to verify efficacy and safety.

5. Innovation in synthesis and biosynthesis technology: Increase the yield and purity of musk ketone to ensure stable supply.

In summary, as a natural compound with multiple pharmacological activities, muskone has the potential to become a novel neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory drug and is worth further in-depth development.

Conclusion

As the main active ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine musk, musk ketone has become a hot topic in natural product pharmacology research due to its unique chemical structure and significant biological activity. By inhibiting the activation of NF-κB and NLRP3 inflammatory bodies, it significantly lowers inflammatory factor levels and exerts anti-inflammatory and cardiovascular protective effects; At the same time, by regulating multiple neuroprotective targets, it demonstrates the potential for treating neurodegenerative diseases. Druggability evaluations show that it has good blood-brain barrier penetration ability and relatively high safety, but poor water solubility limits its clinical application. In the future, with advances in formulation technology and deeper mechanistic research, muskone is expected to become an important drug for treating inflammatory and neurological diseases. This paper systematically reviews the research progress of musk ketone, aiming to provide theoretical support and research direction for its drug development and promote its clinical translation.