eserine

English

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] French ésérine, from éséré, from a West African name for the Calabar bean, +‎ -ine.

Noun

eserine (plural eserines)

1. (chemistry) An alkaloid C₁₅H₂₁N₃O₂, originally extracted from the Calabar bean.
   • 1997, Roy Porter, The Greatest Benefit to Mankind, Folio Society 2016, p. 323:

     Thomas Fraser (1841–1920) isolated the alkaloid eserine and made the important discovery that another alkaloid, atropine, blocked some of eserine’s actions.

Synonyms

• physostigmine