Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A colorless, foul-smelling ptomaine, C4H12N2, produced in decaying animal tissue by the decarboxylation of ornithine.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
diamine , NH2(CH2)4NH2 (1,4-diaminobutane or butanediamine). It is produced by the breakdown ofamino acids in living and dead organisms.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a colorless crystalline ptomaine with a foul odor that is produced in decaying animal matter
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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One is called putrescine, the other is called cadaverine, very pungent smells.
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Actually there is recent research showing that the use of native yeasts can sometimes produce some noxious substances known as biogenic amines, which include such wonderfully named compounds such as putrescine and cadaverine.
I Guess Alice Feiring Doesn't Like Long Island Wine...Or Hasn't Tasted Much of It 2007
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Some, like the aptly-named "putrescine" and "cadaverine," develop early in the decomposition process.
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A third: to pursue the biochemical breakthrough that will enable scientists to pinpoint time of death based on the level of once obscure gases, like putrescine and cadaverine.
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And that is what these dogs are recognizing, putrescine and cadaverine.
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There are three substances the body produces as it decomposes, cadaverine, spermine, putrescine.
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If nightsoil is unavailable, substitute a sealable plastic vessel containing a small amount of 1,4-diaminobutane putrescine, cadaverine, or other noxious nitrile of choice.
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And if there ` s putrescine or cadaverine on a child that ` s decomposing, and there ` s an inanimate object, there ` s a transfer, but that scent is so specific, and these dogs are trained for that.
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They make fish inedible in a fraction of the time they take to spoil beef or pork, by consuming the savory free amino acids and then proteins and turning them into obnoxious nitrogen-containing substances (ammonia, trimethylamine, indole, skatole, putrescine, cadaverine) and sulfur compounds (hydrogen sulfide, skunky methanethiol).
On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee 2004
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The amino acids can in turn be broken into various amines, some of which are reminiscent of ocean fish (trimethylamine), others of spoiling meat (putrescine); into strong sulfur compounds (a specialty of smear bacteria), or into simple ammonia, a powerful aroma that in overripened cheeses is harsh, like household cleaner.
On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee 2004
chained_bear commented on the word putrescine
"Putrefying foods release several organic compounds into the air; they have names like putrescine and cadaverine."
—Steven Johnson, The Ghost Map (New York: Penguin, 2006), 129
October 2, 2008
sionnach commented on the word putrescine
See also Improbable Research on Bad Breath
June 15, 2009