Identification of Ambergris from the New Bedford Whaling Museum by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Abstract

A new method for the separation and identification of ambrein in ambergris using adsorption chromatography and 1H and 13C Fourier transform nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (FT-NMR) is presented. We demonstrated the effectiveness of this method by analyzing an approximately 85-year-old sample of suspected ambergris from the New Bedford Whaling Museum (New Bedford, MA). Results prove that ambrein remains a major constituent of ambergris even after 85 years of storage under ordinary conditions.