Thiaminase - Medical Dictionary Definition

thiaminase

Type: Term

Pronunciation: thī-am′i-nās
Definitions:
1. An enzyme present in raw fish that destroys thiamin and may produce thiamin deficiency in animals on a diet largely composed of raw fish.
2. A hydrolase cleaving thiamin into a pyrimidine moiety (2-methyl-4-amino-5-hydroxymethylpyrimidine) and a thiazole moiety (4-methyl-5-(2′-hydroxyethyl)thiazole); the pyrimidine moiety may appear in the urine as pyramin.