fer'ment

Syn.: enzyme. The active principle obtained from animal and plant life which has the property of causing chemical changes in compounds when allowed to act at or near the body temperature. alcoholic f. The enzyme found in yeast and other cells which has the property of forming alcohol and carbon dioxid from sugar. See zymase, amylolytic f. A soluble f. which converts starch and other amylolytic substances into dextrin, sugar, or glucose, animal f. Of Hoffmann, see morbific f. bacterium f. The f. of bacteria, butyric f. The f. producing butyric acid fermentation, diastatic f. The enzymes that convert starch paste into maltose, fat decomposing f., fat digesting f., fat splitting f. A f. which is capable of splitting up the fats into glycerin and fatty acids. See esterases and lipase, f. of carnivorous plants. A f. found in the secretion of the glands of the sundew (Drosera), Venus flytrap (Dionea), and other insectivorous plants. It converts proteins into proteoses and peptones, f's of the intestine. See pancreatic juice, under juice; and erepsin. f's of the pancreas. See pancreatic of the saliva. juice, I See under juice. f. plyalin. f's of the stomach. See gastric juice, undef juice, fibrin f. See under fibrin, hydrolytic f. A f. which acts only in the presence of water, causing the addition of 1 or more molecules of water to the molecule of the substance acted upon, intestinal f's. See pancreatic juice, under juice and erepsin. inversive f., inverting f. A f. that con ver ts cane sugar into grape sugar. See invertase and fructose, lactic acid f. See lactic acid fermentation, under fermentation, milk-curdling f. 1. A