Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40356961›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in pharmacology2025

Elucidating metabolites and biosynthetic pathways during musk maturation: insights from forest musk deer.

Hang Jie, Feng Li, Qian Liu, Tingting Zheng, Helin Tan, Xiaolan Feng, Guijun Zhao, Dejun Zeng, Diyan Li, Zhongxian Xu and 1 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in pharmacology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Hang Jie *Sichuan Wildlife Rehabilitation and Breeding Research Center, Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, China.
Feng Li *Sichuan Wildlife Rehabilitation and Breeding Research Center, Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, China.
Qian LiuSichuan Wildlife Rehabilitation and Breeding Research Center, Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, China.
Tingting ZhengSichuan Wildlife Rehabilitation and Breeding Research Center, Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, China.
Helin TanSichuan Wildlife Rehabilitation and Breeding Research Center, Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, China.
Xiaolan FengBio-resource Research and Utilization Joint Key Laboratory of Sichuan and Chongqing, Chongqing Institute of Medicinal Plant Cultivation, Nanchuan, Chongqing, China.
Guijun ZhaoBio-resource Research and Utilization Joint Key Laboratory of Sichuan and Chongqing, Chongqing Institute of Medicinal Plant Cultivation, Nanchuan, Chongqing, China.
Dejun ZengBio-resource Research and Utilization Joint Key Laboratory of Sichuan and Chongqing, Chongqing Institute of Medicinal Plant Cultivation, Nanchuan, Chongqing, China.
Diyan LiAntibiotics Research and Re-evaluation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, School of Pharmacy, Sichuan Industrial Institute of Antibiotics, Chengdu University, Chengdu, China.
Zhongxian XuSichuan Wildlife Rehabilitation and Breeding Research Center, Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, China.
Tao WangAntibiotics Research and Re-evaluation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, School of Pharmacy, Sichuan Industrial Institute of Antibiotics, Chengdu University, Chengdu, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Musk is a blackish-brown solid used in traditional Chinese medicine with a unique and intense scent. Limited evidence on its function and pathways is available from databases due to the complexity, variability, and derivativity of chemical composition. Results: In this study, musk samples from three different stages during maturation: the end of June (group A), August (group B), and October (group C) were harvested from six male forest musk deer. A gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) approach was used to explore the chemical composition. Results indicated the presence of 66 known and 14 unknown chemicals, including 29 aromatic compounds. Lipids (51.52%), organic oxygen compounds (28.79%), and organoheterocyclic compounds (12.12%) were the most abundant substances. A total of 13 differential metabolites were found, including four macrocyclic ketones and six androgens and derivatives that increased as musk matured. Biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids was enriched in differential metabolites across stages. Tetracosanoic acid, methyl ester, and TES1 [EC: 3.1.2.2] participated in the biosynthesis of muscone. A total of nine chemicals and six steroidogenic enzymes participated in steroid hormone biosynthesis. Conclusion: This study annotates and defines metabolites in musk systematically, macrocyclic ketones (9.09%) and lipids (51.52%) were categorized unambiguously, suggesting that previous studies have underestimated the lipid content in musk, and critical role for lipid metabolism in musk gland development and odor profile formation. The high lipid content may reflect energy storage for glandular activity or serve as precursors for volatile compound synthesis, offering new mechanistic insights into musk maturation. Therefore, we preliminarily decipher the biosynthetic pathways of muscone and steroids through providing involved enzymes and metabolites. These results will deepen the understanding of the composition of natural musk and offer new theoretical insights to promote the comprehensive use of this resource.

Indexed as

biosynthesisforest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii Flerov)metabolitesmusk maturationpathway

Identifiers

PMID40356961
PMCPMC12066291

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.