Diastase
Diastase , noun
[Greek {not transcribed} separation, from {not transcribed}, {not transcribed} to stand apart; dia` through + {not transcribed}, {not transcribed}, to stand, set: compare French diastase. Compare Diastasis.]
(Physiology Chemistry) A soluble enzyme, capable of converting starch and dextrin into sugar.
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.