sarcosine

[ sahr-kuh-seen, -sin ]

noun

, Chemistry.

1. a crystalline compound, C 3 H 7 NO 2 , with a sweet taste, soluble in water, slightly soluble in alcohol: used in the manufacture of toothpaste, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sarcosine¹

< German Sarkosin (1847), apparently irregular derivative from Greek sárx, stem sark- flesh, and German -in -ine ²

Example Sentences

Excitation-inhibition balance can be influenced by the glycine re-uptake inhibitor sarcosine; however, the collapsed coordination observed here was unaffected by such treatment.

From Nature

These products are carbon dioxide, formic acid, ammonia, methyl-amine, and sarcosine, the last three being of course in combination with the excess of hydrochloric acid.

From Project Gutenberg