astringent

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1. Medicine. Tending to draw together or constrict tissues; styptic.
2. Sharp and penetrating; pungent or severe: astringent remarks.

A substance or preparation, such as alum, that draws together or constricts body tissues and is effective in stopping the flow of blood or other secretions.

[Latin astringēns, astringent-, present participle of astringere, to bind fast : ad-, ad- + stringere, to bind.]

adjective

So sharp as to cause mental pain: acerbic, acid, acidic, acrid, biting, caustic, corrosive, cutting, mordacious, mordant, pungent, scathing, sharp, slashing, stinging, trenchant, truculent, vitriolic. See attack/defend, respect/contempt/standing.

Definition: harsh
Antonyms: bland, mild

Styptic; an agent that checks the secretions of mucous membranes and contracts and hardens tissues, limiting the secretions of glands.

A drug that shrinks cells. Astringents may be used to harden and protect the skin.

1. causing contraction or arresting discharges.
2. an agent that causes contraction or arrests discharges. Astringents act as protein precipitants; they arrest discharge by causing shrinkage of tissue.
Some astringents, such as tannic acid, have been used in treating diarrhea; others, such as boric acid and sodium borate, help relieve the symptoms of inflammation of the mucous membranes of the throat or conjunctiva of the eye. Skin lotions often contain astringents such as aluminum acetate that help to reduce oiliness and excessive perspiration. Witch hazel is a common household astringent used to reduce swelling. Styptic pencils, used to stop bleeding from small cuts, contain astringents. Zinc oxide and calamine are astringents used in lotions, powders and ointments to relieve itching and chafing in various forms of dermatitis. Astringents have some bacteriostatic properties, though they are not generally used as antiseptics.

A crystal of alum, an astringent

An astringent (also spelled adstringent) substance is a chemical that tends to shrink or constrict body tissues, usually locally after topical medicinal application. The word "astringent" derives from Latin adstringere, meaning "to bind fast". Two common examples are calamine lotion and witch hazel.

Astringency is also the dry, puckering mouthfeel caused by tannins found in many fruits such as blackthorn, chokecherry, bird cherry and persimmon fruits, and banana skins. The tannins denature the salivary proteins, causing a rough "sandpapery" sensation in the mouth. Astringency tastes unpleasant to many mammals (including humans), which tend to avoid eating astringent fruit; conversely, birds do not taste astringency and readily eat these fruit. It is thought that fruit astringency gives a selective advantage to some plant varieties because birds are better than mammals at long-distance seed dispersal, often flying a great distance before passing the seeds in their droppings.

Astringent substances are also found in some red wines and teas. A small amount of astringency is expected in some wines, especially young red wines made from grapes such as cabernet sauvignon.

A bottle of tannic acid, an astringent

Astringent medicines cause shrinkage of mucous membranes or exposed tissues and are often used internally to check discharge of blood serum or mucous secretions. This can happen with a sore throat, hemorrhages, diarrhea, or with peptic ulcers. Externally applied astringents, which cause mild coagulation of skin proteins, dry, harden, and protect the skin. Acne sufferers are often advised to use astringents if they have oily skin. ^[1] Astringents also help heal stretch marks and other scars^{[citation needed]}. Mild astringent solutions are used in the relief of such minor skin irritations as those resulting from superficial cuts, allergies, insect bites, or fungal infections such as athlete's foot^{[citation needed]}.

Some common astringent agents include alum, oatmeal, acacia, yarrow, witch hazel, bayberry, very cold water, and rubbing alcohol. Astringent preparations include silver nitrate, zinc oxide, zinc sulfate, Burow's solution, tincture of benzoin, and vegetable substances such as tannic and gallic acids. Balaustines are the red rose-like flowers of the pomegranate, which are very bitter to the taste. In medicine, its dried form has been used as an astringent.^[2] Some metal salts and acids have also been used as astringents.

References

1. ^ Acne from http://www.brown.edu
2. ^ History of Science: Cyclopædia, or, An universal dictionary of arts and sciences…

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Dansk (Danish)
adj. - adstringerende
n. - adstringentium

Nederlands (Dutch)
samentrekkend, vernauwend, bloedstelpend, streng, middel om samentrekking etc. te bereiken

Français (French)
adj. - (Méd) astringent, (fig) dur, sévère
n. - (Méd) astringent

Deutsch (German)
adj. - beißend, blutstillend
n. - Adstringens, blutstillendes Mittel

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - στυφός, στυπτικός, (ιατρ.) αιμοστατικός
n. - στυπτική ουσία

Italiano (Italian)
astringente, pungente

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - severo, austero
n. - adstringente (m) (f) (Med.)

Русский (Russian)
вяжущий, строгий

Español (Spanish)
adj. - astringente, austero, severo
n. - sustancia astringente, persona austera o severa

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - sammandragande, blodstillande
n. - adstringerande medel

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
严酷的, 涩的, 收敛性的, 收敛剂

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 嚴酷的, 澀的, 收斂性的
n. - 收斂劑

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 수렴성의, 엄한, 떫은, 지혈의
n. - 수렴제

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 収斂剤, アストリンゼン
adj. - 収斂性の, きびしい, 収縮させる

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) عقول, قابض, صارم, قاس, (الاسم) العقول : مادهتجعل انسجه الجسم تنقبض فيخف الإفراز والنزف‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮מכווץ רקמות גוף או נקבוביות עור, מונע דימום, חמור, מחמיר‬
n. - ‮תרופה מונעת דימום‬

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