noun
- A bitter, colorless crystalline compound found in the juice of the squirting cucumber, used historically as a purgative.
Usage: chemistry; botany; archaic medical use
Examples
- Elaterin was extracted from squirting cucumber plants in early pharmaceutical research.
- The compound elaterin has strong laxative properties when ingested.
- Botanists studying Ecballium elaterium identified elaterin as its active ingredient.
- Historical herbalists used elaterin preparations as a drastic purgative remedy.