from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Diastase \Di"a*stase\, n. [Gr. ? separation, fr. ?, ? to stand
apart; dia` through + ?, ?, to stand, set: cf. F. diastase.
Cf. {Diastasis}.] (Physiol. Chem.)
A soluble enzyme, capable of converting starch and dextrin
into sugar.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The name is more particularly applied to that enzyme
formed during the germination of grain, as in the
malting of barley; but it is also occasionally used to
designate the amylolytic enzyme contained in animal
fluids, as in the saliva.
[1913 Webster]