Civet ( Zibeth; Zibet; Zibetum), also known as civet musk and civet oil, is the secretion produced by both sexes of Viverridae species.
Production
A number of viverrid species secrete civet oil in their perineal glands, including the
African civet (
Civettictis civetta), large Indian civet (
Viverra zibetha), and small Indian civet (
Viverricula indica). Most civet is produced in African farms, where African civets are kept in cages for this purpose.
African civets typically produce three to four grams of civet per week. In 2000, civet sold for about five hundred dollars per kilogram.
Civet is a soft, almost liquid material. It is pale yellow when fresh, darkening in the light and becoming salve-like in consistency. Its odor is strong, even putrid as a pure substance, but once diluted it is pleasantly and sweetly aromatic. It is prepared for use in perfumery by solvent extraction to yield either a tincture (10 or 20 percent), an absolute, or a resinoid.
Composition
The chemical in civet oil that gives it most of its distinctive odor is
civetone, at a concentration of between 2.5 and 3.4%. The oil also includes various other
such as cyclopentadecanone, cyclohexadecanone, cycloheptadecanone, and 6-
cis-cycloheptadecenone. The animal scent is reinforced by the presence of smaller amounts of
indole and
skatole, which in African civet are present at a concentration of about 1%.
Uses
Civet has a distinctly different odor from
musk and was formerly a versatile ingredient of fine fragrances. It is being displaced by 5-cyclohexadecen-1-one (Ambretone) which is more easily synthesized.
Civet absolute (CAS# 68916-26-7) is used as a flavor and in perfumery.
Safety
The United States does not allow civets to be imported, as the species can transmit the
SARS virus.
The US does however permit the importation of civet oil, as long as it has been treated to ensure it is noninfectious.
Name
The name derives from the
Arabic language زباد
zabād or سنور الزباد
sinnawr al-zabād, civet cat (
Viverra civetta), by way of
Old Italian zibetto and
Middle French civette and Ethiopian name ዝባድ (Zibad) .
History
The 10th-century Arab historian
al-Masudi mentioned civet (
zabāda) as a spice in his book
Murūdj al-dhahab ('Meadows of Gold').
Civet was among the many trade items that caravans, controlled by the Ghana empire, carried from the Niger River to North Africa, including Ancient Egypt.
