9/22/2023 0 Comments Amber gris![]() ![]() Through the years many people hav e brought me malodorous globs that the}’ picked up 011 the seashore in hopes that it was ambergris none of it ever was. One analysis gave the following chemical composition: ambrein, 25-45% epicoprosterol, 30-40% co-prosterol, 1-5% coprostanone, 3-4% cholesterol, 0.1% pris-tane, 2-4% ketone, 3-4% free acids, 5-8% and residues insoluble in ether, 10-16% (Berzin, 1971 this analysis was mistranslated in the 1972 English edition of Berzin ).Ĭontrary to the prevalent notion, ambergris is hardly ever found 011 beaches most is recovered directly Irom whale carcasses. The principal component is an ester of ambrein (C23H39OH), which gives it its peculiar properties and odor (Gilinore. Fresh ambergris has the highly distinctive pungent odor of sperm whale feces, but aged pieces have an almost pleasant must)’ or even miiskv smell.Ĭhemically, ambergris is a nonvolatile solid consisting mainly of a mixture of waxy, unsaturated, high molecular weight alcohols. The cliitinons beaks of cephalopods are almost inv ariably found imbedded in the lumps. In color they are pale yellowish to light gray on the inside, whereas the outer surface is dark brown with a varnished appearance. Internally tliev usually show no laminations, but when broken apart tliev tend to fracture along concentric cleavage surfaces. In consistency tliey are solid and friable, similar to nearly dry clay. Most pieces of ambergris are in the form of an irregular roundish lump, somewhat resembling a potato. Such huge masses greatly distend the whale’s large intestine. Ambergris occurs in only 1 to 5% of whales of both sexes and all ages, but the circumstances that induce its production remain unknown.Īmbergris forms as concretions that usually weigh 0.1 to 10.0 kg, but rarely much bigger pieces have been recovered the largest on record, weighing 420 kg., was removed from a 14.9-m bull sperm whale killed in the Southern Ocean on Decem(Clarke, 1954). Probably most lumps of ambergris are eventually voided during defecation, unless they grow too large to pass through the amis. Most ambergris is found in the large intestine, but smaller pieces have been found in the small intestine, and it may be that it initially forms in the small intestine and subsequently passes into the large intestine. The word comes from the Old French ambre gris or “gray amber,” as opposed to ambre jaune, “yellow amber,” which refers to the true, resinous amber. Ambergris is a substance that forms only in the intestines of the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). ![]()
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