Musk ketone (MK) is a widely used artificial fragrance. Musk ketone shows mutagenic and comutagenic effects in Hep G2 cells and induces neural stem cell proliferation and differentiation in cerebral ischemia via activation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. In the brain, musk ketone is neuroprotective against stroke injury through inhibition of cell apoptosis[1][2][3].
[1]. Yamagishi T, et al. Identification of musk xylene and musk ketone in freshwater fish collected from the Tama River, Tokyo. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 1981 May;26(5):656-62. [2]. Mersch-Sundermann V, et al. Musk ketone enhances benzo(a)pyrene induced mutagenicity in human derived Hep G2 cells. Mutat Res. 2001 Aug 22;495(1-2):89-96. [3]. Zhou Z, et al. Musk Ketone Induces Neural Stem Cell Proliferation and Differentiation in Cerebral Ischemia via Activation of the PI3K/Akt Signaling Pathway. Neuroscience. 2020 May 21;435:1-9.