eserine Chem.
(ˈɛsəraɪn)
[a. Fr. ésérine, f. éséré, the native name of the plant; see -ine.
(First used in Fr. by Vée Recherches chimiques sur la fève du Calabar 1865).]
A crystalline alkaloid obtained from the Calabar bean, the fruit of Physostigma venenosum, employed in solution in medicine to produce contraction in the pupil of the eye.
| 1879 P. Smith Glaucoma 153 Eserine lowers the tension of the glaucomatous eye. 1888 Edin. Rev. Oct. 507 Eserine or physostigmine. |