Deer musk

Scent glands from these deer can fetch thousands of rupees and are used for manufacturing perfume and traditional medicine.

Deer musk was unknown in the Western world in classical antiquity and reference to it does not appear until the 5th century AD when it is mentioned in the Talmud (Brachot 43.)

In the early 9th century, Al-Kindi included it in a large number of his perfume recipes and it became one of the important luxury items brought by Arabian ships from the East.

Despite its high price, musk tinctures were used in perfumery until 1979, when musk deer were protected as an endangered species by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).

[7] Deer musk is of a dark purplish color, dry, smooth and unctuous to the touch, and bitter in taste.