zymosanhttp://www.oed.com/dictionary/zymosan_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_usezymosan, n.
First published 1986; not fully revised

zymosannoun

Biochemistry.
  1. 1943–
    An insoluble polysaccharide of the cell wall of yeast, used in the assay of properdin.
    1. 1943
      The preparation of human complement lacking in third component. The third component is specifically removed from or inactivated in human serum by the insoluble carbohydrate prepared from fresh yeast... The insoluble carbohydrate is hereafter referred to as ‘zymosan’.
      E. E. Ecker et al. in Journal of Immunology vol. XLVII. 185
    2. 1973
      The incubation of normal blood serum..with certain polysaccharides derived from microbial cells (such as zymosan, a carbohydrate of the yeast cell membrane) gives rise to enzymes that activate the complement factors C3 and C5.
      Scientific American November 60/3

zymosan, n. was first published in 1986; not fully revised.

zymosan, n. was last modified in December 2024.