Definition of "putrescine" []

• A colorless, foul-smelling ptomaine, NH2(CH2)4NH2, produced in decaying animal tissue by the decarboxylation of ornithine. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "One is called putrescine, the other is called cadaverine, very pungent smells."
• "Actually there is recent research showing that the use of native yeasts can sometimes produce some noxious substances known as biogenic amines, which include such wonderfully named compounds such as putrescine and cadaverine."
• "Some, like the aptly-named "putrescine" and "cadaverine," develop early in the decomposition process."