alloxan Chem.
(æˈlɒksən)
[f. allantoin) + oxalic) + -an, ‘so named by Liebig and Wöhler in 1838, because it contains the elements of allantoin and oxalic acid.’ H. E. Roscoe.]
An organic compound C4H2N2O4 crystallizing in large efflorescent rectangular prisms; one of the oxidation products of uric acid, being a monureide of mesoxalic acid constituted by the radical mesoxalyl CO.2(CO){pp} and the urea-residue CO.(2NH){pp}.
| 1853 Thudichum Urine 81 The reaction consists in the formation of alloxan, urea, and nitrous acid. 1873 Williamson Chem. §317 Alloxan is formed by the action of various oxidizing agents. |