bitter principle

American  

noun

Chemistry.

1. any of several hundred natural compounds, usually of vegetable origin, having a bitter taste, and not admitting of any chemical classification.

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bitter principle British  

noun

1. any of various bitter-tasting substances, such as aloin, usually extracted from plants

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Etymology

Origin of bitter principle

First recorded in 1930–35

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bitter principle

Some of the acid-forming bacteria are able to develop a bitter principle, the milk retaining a pleasant odor and having the normal amount of acid, while the taste is intensely bitter.

From Outlines of dairy bacteriology A concise manual for the use of students in dairying by Edwin George Hastings

The plant also contains some tannin, with a resin and a bitter principle.

From Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure by William Thomas Fernie

Chemically the herb contains erythrocentaurin—a bitter principle of compound character,—together with the usual herbal constituents, but with scarcely any tannin.

From Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure by William Thomas Fernie

Four species have been shown by M. G. Bertrand to contain no caffeine at all, but instead a considerable quantity of a bitter principle.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 6 "Cockaigne" to "Columbus, Christopher" by Various

The root-bark of E. atropurpureus is the source of euonymin, a bitter principle with a powerful stimulating effect on the liver.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 3: Estremoz to Felspar by Various

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