Papain

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Papain \Pa*pa"in\, n. [From {Papaw}.] (Physiol. Chem.)
     A proteolytic ferment, like trypsin, present in the juice of
     the green fruit of the papaw ({Carica Papaya}) of tropical
     America.
     [1913 Webster]



From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  papaya \pa*pa"ya\, n. [Prob. from the native name in the West
     Indies; cf. Sp. papayo papaw, papaya the fruit of the papaw.]
     1. (Bot.) A tree ({Carica Papaya}) of tropical America,
        belonging to the order {Passiflore[ae]}; called also
        {papaw} and {pawpaw}. It has a soft, spongy stem, eighteen
        or twenty feet high, crowned with a tuft of large,
        long-stalked, palmately lobed leaves. The milky juice of
        the plant is said to have the property of making meat
        tender.
        [1913 Webster +PJC]
  
     2. The fruit of the papaya tree; it is a dull orange-colored,
        melon-shaped fruit, which is eaten both raw and cooked or
        pickled. The fruit contains {papain}, a protease.
        [1913 Webster + PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  papain
       n : a proteolytic enzyme obtained from the unripe papaya; used
           as a meat tenderizer