Hydrolytic

[Sarah]

Tending to remove or separate water; eliminating water.Hydrolytic agents, such as sulphuric acid or caustic alkali. Encyc.Brit.Hydrolitic ferment (Physiol. Chem.), a ferment, enzyme, or chemicalferment, which acts only in the presence of water, and which causesthe substance acted upon to take up a molecule of water. Thus,diastase of malt, ptyalin of saliva, and boiling dilute sulphuricacid all convert starch by hydration into dextrin and sugar. Nearlyall of the digestive ferments are hydrolytic in their action.