\Di"a*stase\, n. [Gr. ? separation, fr. ?, ? to stand
apart; dia` through + ?, ?, to stand, set: cf. F. diastase.
Cf. {Diastasis}.] (Physiol. Chem.)
A soluble, nitrogenous ferment, capable of converting starch
and dextrin into sugar.
Note: The name is more particularly applied to that ferment
      formed during the germination of grain, as in the
      malting of barley; but it is also occasionally used to
      designate the amylolytic ferment contained in animal
      fluids, as in the saliva.