\Hy`dro*lyt"ic\, a. [Hydro-, 1 + Gr. ? to loose.]
(Chem.)
Tending to remove or separate water; eliminating water.
      Hydrolytic agents, such as sulphuric acid or caustic
      alkali.                                  --Encyc. Brit.
{Hydrolytic ferment} (Physiol. Chem.), a ferment, enzyme, or
   chemical ferment, which acts only in the presence of
   water, and which causes the substance acted upon to take
   up a molecule of water. Thus, diastase of malt, ptyalin of
   saliva, and boiling dilute sulphuric acid all convert
   starch by hydration into dextrin and sugar. Nearly all of
   the digestive ferments are hydrolytic in their action.