asparagine

[ uh-spar-uh-jeen, -jin ]

noun

a white, crystalline, amino acid, NH2COCH2CH(NH2)COOH, soluble in water, obtained from certain plants, especially legumes, and used chiefly as a nutrient in culture media for certain bacteria. Abbreviation: Asn; Symbol: N

Origin of asparagine

From French, dating back to 1805–15; see origin at asparagus, -ine²

Words Nearby asparagine

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use asparagine in a sentence

The influence of small amounts of asparagine in enormously increasing the hydrolytic effect of amylase is an example.
The Chemistry of Plant Life | Roscoe Wilfred Thatcher
It occurs in two optically active forms, namely, as laevo-asparagine and dextro-asparagine.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 7 | Various
The diuretic action is extremely feeble, and neither the plant nor asparagine is now used medicinally.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 7 | Various
In common with the marsh-mallow and some other plants, it contains asparagine or aspartic acidamide.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 7 | Various
Besides solutions containing ammonium salts and urea, I have succeeded in nitrifying solutions of asparagine, milk, and rape cake.
Scientific American Supplement, Vol. XIX, No. 470, Jan. 3, 1885 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for asparagine

asparagine

/ (əˈspærəˌdʒiːn, -dʒɪn) /

noun

a nonessential amino acid, a component of proteins

Origin of asparagine

C19: from French, from Latin asparagus asparagus + -ine ²

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for asparagine

asparagine

[ ə-spăr′ə-jēn′ ]

A nonessential amino acid. Chemical formula: C4H8N2O3. See more at amino acid.

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