rotenone

English

Etymology

From Japanese ローテン (rōten) +‎ -one (ketone), from Hokkien 蘆藤 / 芦藤 (lôo-tîn, Derris elliptica).

Pronunciation

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Noun

rotenone (countable and uncountable, plural rotenones)

  1. (chemistry) A toxic crystalline substance obtained from the roots of derris and related plants, widely used as an insecticide.
    • 2009 March 27, Ken-ichi Takeuchi et al., “Changes in Temperature Preferences and Energy Homeostasis in Dystroglycan Mutants”, in Science[1], volume 323, number 5922, →DOI, pages 1740–1743:
      The cryophilic phenotype of the atu mutant was alleviated to some extent by administering rotenone, a pharmacological inhibitor of oxidative phosphorylation, but not tolbutamide, a sulphonylurea that stimulates metabolic rate by raising the lymphatic concentration of glucose.

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