Glossary
Alcohol
Any one of a class of organic compounds that contain one or more hydroxyl groups bound to carbon atoms.
Amino Acids
Any of a large number of compounds found in living cells that contain carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen, and join together to form proteins. Amino acids contain a basic amino group (NH2) and an acidic carboxyl group (COOH), both attached to the same carbon atom. Since the carboxyl group has a proton available for binding with the electrons of another atom, and the amino group has electrons available for binding with a proton from another atom, the amino acid behaves as an acid and a base simultaneously. Twenty of the naturally occurring amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, which they form by being connected to each other in chains. Eight of those twenty, called essential amino acids, cannot be synthesized in the cells of humans and must be consumed as part of the diet. The remaining twelve are nonessential amino acids.
Amino Acid Residue
An amino acid molecule that has lost a water molecule by becoming joined to a molecule of another amino acid.
Amphoteric Electrolyte
An electrolyte that can either give up or take on a hydrogen ion and can thus behave as either an acid or a base.
Amylase
Enzyme that turns starch into sugar.
Assimilate
To absorb.
Bract
A modified leaf growing just below a flower or flower stalk.
Carbohydrate
Any of a large class of organic compounds consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, usually with twice as many hydrogen atoms as carbon or oxygen atoms. Carbohydrates are produced in green plants by photosynthesis and serve as a major energy source in animal diets. Sugars, starches, and cellulose are all carbohydrates.
Colloid
A mixture in which very small particles of one substance are distributed evenly throughout another substance. The particles are generally larger than those in a solution, and smaller than those in a suspension.
Condensation
A chemical reaction involving union between molecules often with elimination of a simple molecule (as water) to form a new more complex compound of often greater molecular weight.
Denature
To cause the tertiary structure of a protein to unfold, as with heat, alkali, or acid, so that some of its original properties, especially its biological activity, are diminished or eliminated. For example, frying an egg or cooking meat.
Ester
Any of a class of compounds produced by reaction between acids and alcohols with the elimination of water. Esters with low molecular weights, such as ethyl acetate, are usually volatile fragrant liquids; fats are solid esters.
Ethanol
An alcohol obtained from the fermentation of sugars and starches or by chemical synthesis.
Germination
The beginning of growth, as of a seed, spore, or bud. The germination of most seeds and spores occurs in response to warmth and water.
Hydrolysis
A chemical reaction in which molecules of water (H2O) are split into Hydrogen cations H+ and Hydroxyl anions OH-.
Inflorescences
A group of flowers growing from a common stem, often in a characteristic arrangement.
Isoelectric Point
Sometimes abbreviated to IEP, is the pH at which a particular molecule or surface carries no net electrical charge.
Monosaccharide
Any of a class of carbohydrates that cannot be broken down to simpler sugars by hydrolysis.
Nitrogen
A nonmetallic element that constitutes nearly four fifths of the air by volume, occurring as a colorless, odorless, almost inert diatomic gas, N2 , in various minerals and in all proteins. Atomic number 7; atomic weight 14.0067; melting point -210.00°C; boiling point -195.8°C; valence 3, 5.
Oxidation
The chemical combination of a substance with oxygen.
Peptide
Any of various natural or synthetic compounds containing two or more amino acids linked by the carboxyl group of one amino acid and the amino group of another.
Peptide Linkage
The chemical bond formed between amino acids, constituting the primary linkage in all protein structures. In a peptide bond, the carboxyl group (COOH) of one amino acid bonds with the amino group (NH2) of another, forming the sequence CONH and releasing water (H2O).
Perennial
A perennial plant. Herbaceous perennials survive winter and drought as underground roots, rhizomes, bulbs, corms, or tubers. Woody perennials, including vines, shrubs, and trees, usually stop growing during winter and drought.
Phenol
Any of a class of organic compounds that contain a hydroxyl group (OH) attached to a carbon atom that is part of an aromatic ring. Phenols are similar to alcohols but are more soluble in water, and occur as colorless solids or liquids at room temperature. Some phenols occur naturally in the essential oils of plants. Tannin is a polyphenol.
Phosphate
A salt or ester of phosphoric acid, containing the group PO4.
Polyose
Any of a class of carbohydrates whose molecules contain chains of monosaccharide molecules.
Precipitation
The process by which a substance is separated out of a solution as a solid. Precipitation occurs either by the action of gravity or through a chemical reaction that forms an insoluble compound out of two or more soluble compounds.
Prosthetic Group
Non-amino acid portions of certain protein molecules. The key part of the prosthetic group may be either organic (such as a vitamin) or inorganic (such as a metal) and is usually required for biological activity, especially when the prosthetic group is complexed with an enzyme.
Proteins
Any of numerous naturally occurring extremely complex substances (as an enzyme or antibody) that consist of amino acid residues joined by peptide bonds, contain the elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, usually sulfur, and occasionally other elements (as phosphorus or iron), that are essential constituents of all living cells, that are synthesized from raw materials by plants but assimilated as separate amino acids by animals, that are both acidic and basic and usually colloidal in nature although many have been crystallized, and that are hydrolyzable by acids, alkalies, proteolytic enzymes, and putrefactive bacteria to polypeptides, to simpler peptides, and ultimately to alpha-amino acids.
Proteolytic Enzymes
Any group of enzymes that break the long chain-like molecules of proteins into shorter fragments (peptides) and eventually into their components, amino acids.
Proteose
Water-soluble compounds that are produced by the hydrolytic breakdown of proteins short of the amino acid stage.
Radical
Two or more atoms that are bound together and act as a unit in a number of chemical compounds, such as a hydroxyl (OH) group.
Saccharify
Convert into a simple soluble fermentable sugar by hydrolyzing a sugar derivative or complex carbohydrate.
Salt
A chemical compound formed by replacing all or part of the hydrogen ions of an acid with metal ions or electropositive radicals.