ptomaine

ptomaine
An indefinite term applied to poisonous substances, e.g., toxic amines, formed in the decomposition of protein by the decarboxylation of amino acid s by bacterial action. SYN: ptomatine. [G. ptoma, a corpse]

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pto·maine 'tō-.mān, tō-' n any of various organic bases formed by the action of putrefactive bacteria on nitrogenous matter and including some which are poisonous compare LEUKOMAINE

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n.
any of various substances produced in decaying foodstuffs and responsible for the unpleasant taste and smell of such foods. These compounds - which include putrescine, cadaverine, and neurine - were formerly thought to be responsible for food poisoning, but although they are often associated with toxic bacteria they themselves are harmless.

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pto·maine (toґmān) (to-mānґ) [Gr. ptōma carcass] any of several toxic bases formed by decarboxylation of an amino acid, often by bacterial action, such as cadaverine, muscarine, neurine, ptomatropine, or putrescine.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • ptomaïne — [ ptɔmain ] n. f. • 1879; it. ptomaina (1875); du gr. ptôma « cadavre » ♦ Biochim. Substance aminée toxique se formant au cours de la putréfaction des protéines animales sous l effet de bactéries. Conserves avariées contenant des ptomaïnes. ●… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Ptomaine — (Leichenalkaloide), eine Reihe von organischen Basen, die sich bei der Fäulnis der Eiweißstoffe infolge der Wirkung besonderer Bakterien bilden und daher in verwesenden Leichenteilen angetroffen werden. Sie sind zum Teil äußerst giftig, zum Teil… …   Lexikon der gesamten Technik

  • Ptomaine — Pto ma*ine, n. [From Gr. ? a dead body.] (Physiol. Chem.) One of a class of animal bases or alkaloids formed in the putrefaction of various kinds of albuminous matter, and closely related to the vegetable alkaloids; a cadaveric poison. The… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ptomaïne — Ptomaïne, s. Leichenalkaloide …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Ptomaine — Ptomaīne, s. Leichenalkaloide …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Ptomaine —   [zu griechisch ptõma »Fall«, »Sturz«; »Leichnam«], Singular Ptomain das, s, die Leichengifte.   …   Universal-Lexikon

  • ptomaine — 1880, from It. ptomaina, coined by Prof. Francesco Selmi of Bologna, 1878, from Gk. ptoma corpse, lit. a falling, fallen thing, from piptein to fall (see SYMPTOM (Cf. symptom)). Notion is of poison produced in decaying matter. Incorrectly formed; …   Etymology dictionary

  • ptomaine — denoting a kind of compound formerly associated with food poisoning, is pronounced toh mayn, with the initial p silent …   Modern English usage

  • ptomaine — [tō′mān΄] n. [It ptomaina < Gr ptōma, corpse < piptein, to fall: see FEATHER] any of a class of alkaloid substances, some of which are poisonous, formed in decaying animal or vegetable matter by bacterial action on proteins …   English World dictionary

  • ptomaine — [19] Ptomaine denotes etymologically ‘matter from a corpse’. It comes via French ptomaïne from Italian ptomaina, which was based on Greek ptōma ‘corpse’. This in turn was derived from the verb píptein ‘fall’, and originally meant literally… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • ptomaine — [19] Ptomaine denotes etymologically ‘matter from a corpse’. It comes via French ptomaïne from Italian ptomaina, which was based on Greek ptōma ‘corpse’. This in turn was derived from the verb píptein ‘fall’, and originally meant literally… …   Word origins

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