n, often attrib  1  :  any of numerous naturally occurring extremely complex substances (as an enzyme or antibody) that consist of amino acid residues joined by peptide bonds, contain the elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, usu. sulfur, and occas. other elements (as phosphorus or iron), that are essential constituents of all living cells, that are synthesized from raw materials by plants but assimilated as separate amino acids by animals, that are both acidic and basic and usu. colloidal in nature although many have been crystallized, and that are hydrolyzable by acids, alkalies, proteolytic enzymes, and putrefactive bacteria to polypeptides, to simpler peptides, and ultimately to alpha-amino acids  2  :  the total nitrogenous material in plant or animal substances : esp  :  CRUDE PROTEIN .
 
   
 
Similar sounding terms:  hy·per·to·nia  hy·per·to·ny  para·to·nia  peritonea 
 
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