Sperm whale, ambergris from

The fragrance (-)-Ambrox (a commercial substitute for ambergris from the blue sperm whale) was made by oxidation of (-)-sclareol (1) with RuClj/aq. Na(IO )/ CC1 -CH3CN/40°C a mixture of (+)-sclareolide (2) with the (-)-acetoxy acid... 

Triterp. limatulane limatulone (Ardiet stropoda, Moll, from intertidal California Albizati 1985) launched ,. and (Diatom., also found in sediments, C 16.1 Belt 2001) ambrein ambergris (sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus, 1758, Odontoceta, Mamm. from all oceans MI). 

Sperm Oil.—This oil is obtained from the white whale—physeter maerocephahs. This, termed also the cachalot and sperm whale, is remarkable for the enormous size of ita head, which is square, and apparently cut off in front. The animal is pursued chiefly for this oil, but it yields also ambergris. The oil is met with in several parts of the body, but the head is the principal receptacle of. it. Here it is fonnd in a large excavation of the upper jaw, anterior to, and quite distinct from the true cranium whioh contains the brain. Like tho fat of othor animals, this oil is contained in colls, or cellular membrane but besides these cells,... 

According to whaling reports, around 1 % of the animals (principally males) suffer from this disease. However, the amount of ambergris in hunted whales can be considerable. In the case of one sperm whale, which died in the Antarctic in 1953, this came to 421 kg (Fig. 3.47). The ambergris from slaughtered animals is of inferior quality, because it has not been ripened in sea-water. Nowadays, sperm whales are a protected species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (also known as the Washington Convention), and the scented materials are obtained by chemical synthesis. 

Large lump of ambergris from a sperm whale shot in the Antarctic in 1953. [208]... 

Ambergris consists primarily of a soft, waxy mass which builds up in the intestine of the sperm whale, in response to mechanical injury from horny jawbones of cuttlefish and squid, its preferred food. Ambergris acts as an antibiotic wound closure, in which indigestible food components are embedded. The concretions fall into the sea through vomit, faecal discharge, or the natural death of the animals. The almost black lumps weigh anywhere from a few grams up to 100 kg, and smell initially of faeces. They drift on the surface due to their low density (0.78-0.93 g/cm ), and over the course of years or decades, they are converted... 

For thousands of years, ambergris has been a highly prized scent, originating from the digestive tract of the sperm whale. 

The most widely used animal products are ambergris (from the sperm whale), castor or castoreo (from the beaver), civet (from the civet cat), and musk (from the musk deer). 

Interestingly, several fixatives have disagreeable odors or histories themselves Civetone comes from the glands of the skunk-like civet cat, ambergris is sperm-whale vomit, and indole is isolated from feces. 1 don t think I ll comment on this. 

Ambergris is a waxy and flammable substance that is produced in the digestive system of sperm whales. Initially, it has a marine odor. With time, as it ages, it becomes sweeter, related to the fragrance of rubbing alcohol. Castoreum is the exudate from the castor sacs of the beaver. It is used in perfumes and as a food additive. 

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