1. Plural of diastase; enzymes that break down starch into simpler sugars, especially during the malting of grain.
Usage: technical; biochemistry
2. In medicine, a separation or displacement of bones, especially of the skull or vertebrae.
Usage: medical; anatomy

Examples

• Diastases in barley convert starch to maltose during the brewing process.
• The enzyme diastases are essential in the production of malt for beer and whiskey.
• A diastasis of the skull bones can occur during difficult childbirth.
• The doctor detected a diastasis between the vertebrae on the X-ray.
• Industrial diastases are used to break down starches in food processing.
• Diastases work by hydrolyzing the glycosidic bonds in starch molecules.