Relating to or causing the breakdown or decomposition of camphol or camphor-related compounds through chemical or biological means.
From 'campho-' plus '-lytic' (from Greek 'lysis,' meaning 'breaking apart'). This term was used in biochemistry and microbiology when studying how organisms metabolize camphor compounds.
Campholytic bacteria actually exist—some microorganisms evolved the ability to break down camphor and use it as food, which shows nature's remarkable ability to evolve enzymes for almost any molecule humans create. These bacteria are now studied for bioremediation.
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