pectase Chem.
(ˈpɛkteɪs)
[f. pect-in or pect-ose, after diastase.]
A ferment supposed to exist in fruits, etc., and having the property of converting pectin into pectic and other related acids. Now usu. called pectinesterase.
| 1866–77 Watts Dict. Chem. IV. 363 According to Frémy, all vegetal tissues which contain pectose..contain also a kind of ferment called pectase, comparable in its mode of action to..diastase. 1893 [see pectic]. 1945 [see pectinesterase]. 1972 [see pectinase]. |