ouabain
/ˈuːəbeɪn
/noun [mass noun] Chemistry
A toxic compound obtained from certain trees, used as a very rapid cardiac stimulant. It is a polycyclic glycoside.It would have been preferable to discard this possibility by more complete blockade of active sodium transport (with the use of a sodium channel blocker in addition to ouabain, instead of ouabain alone)....
- We treated rat lungs with amiloride and ouabain, respectively.
- An unexpected result is that ouabain and amiloride, which do not react directly with cytochrome c oxidase, modify significantly the absorption of the photoacceptor (mirrored by the action spectrum in our case).
Origin
Late 19th century: via French from Somali wabayo, denoting a tree that yields poison (used on arrow points) containing ouabain.