Surprisingly, sac discharge is a flexible therapy that has been used throughout history. It was used to heal stomach disturbances, fevers, and mental diseases, as well as to make soap and lotion. For a while, cigarettes contained it to enhance the naturally sweet odor. Castoreum includes salicylic acid, the pain-relieving component of aspirin. As disgusting as its origin may sound, this material has applications.
The discovery of castoreum came during the height of the fur trade, which almost wiped out the beaver population in North America and Eurasia. In fact, the species faced extinction in the 16th century in Europe and the 19th century in North America
How Beavers Use Their Sac Excretion
Of course, sac excretion is helpful for the beavers themselves. They use it to mark their territories, although the males in beaver families usually take charge of this task. They also use it to identify family members since each beaver’s sac scent differs. The substance also makes their tails and fur more slick and water-resistant.
Your Vanilla Ice Cream is Safe
Their diet of leaves, bark, and other bits of fauna are responsible for the sweet-smelling vanilla aroma. But don’t worry about finding castoreum in your food under the innocent-sounding label “natural flavorings.”
“If food companies can find anything else to substitute for vanilla or to create a strawberry flavor, they will,” Reineccius says. “It actually isn’t very hard to make a basic strawberry flavor that you would recognize with just two compounds.”
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