ptomaine
American Heritage Dictionary:
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pto·maine
(tō'mān', tō-mān') 
n.
A basic nitrogenous organic compound produced by bacterial putrefaction of protein.
n.
A basic nitrogenous organic compound produced by bacterial putrefaction of protein.
[Italian ptomaina, from Greek ptōma, corpse, from piptein, ptō-, to fall.]
Fowler's Modern English Usage:
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ptomaine
denoting a kind of compound formerly associated with food poisoning, is pronounced toh-mayn, with the initial p silent.
| psychosis, psychic, psychical, précis | |
| publicly, pucker, pudenda, pudendum |
Oxford Food & Nutrition Dictionary:
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ptomaines
Loosely used term for amines formed by decarboxylation of amino acids during putrefaction of proteins, coined by Italian toxicologist Francesco Selmi, 1870: putrescine from arginine, cadaverine from lysine, muscarine in mushrooms, neurine formed by dehydration of choline. They have an unpleasant smell and were formerly thought to cause food poisoning.
Saunders Veterinary Dictionary:
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ptomaine
Any of an indefinite class of toxic bases, usually considered to be formed by the action of bacterial metabolism on proteins.
- p. poisoning — a term commonly misapplied to food poisoning. Contrary to popular belief, ptomaines are not injurious to the carnivorous or omnivorous digestive systems, which are quite capable of reducing them to harmless substances. Decomposed foods are often responsible for food poisoning, however, because they may harbor certain forms of poison-producing bacteria, especially Clostridium botulinum.
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Copyrights:
American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Oxford Food & Nutrition Dictionary
A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2005 by A. E. Bender and D. A. Bender. All rights reserved.
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Saunders Veterinary Dictionary
Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.
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