Aesculetin

/ˌɛskjuˈliːtɪn/ noun

Definition

A chemical compound found in horse chestnut seeds that has medicinal properties and is used to strengthen blood vessels.

Etymology

From Aesculus (the horse chestnut genus) + -in (chemical suffix). Aesculus comes from Latin, possibly related to 'edere' (to eat), as the nuts were eaten in ancient times.

Kelly Says

This compound became famous in European folk medicine and is still used today in some countries to treat varicose veins and hemorrhoids—it's one of the few plant chemicals that made the jump from traditional remedy to modern pharmaceutical science.

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.