Glossary

Author: Glossary

  • Sitology

    Science of food.  

  • Sitapophasis

    Refusal to eat as expression of mental disorder.  

  • Single-cell protein

    Collective term used for biomass of bacteria, algae, and yeast, and also (incorrectly) moulds, of potential use as animal or human food. Protein that is derived from single-celled organisms with a high protein content. Yeast is an example. Generally used in regard to those organisms that are edible by domesticated animals, or humans.  

  • Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)

    Changes of individual bases in DNA sequences of the same species which account for population variance.  

  • Siderosis

    Accumulation of the iron-storage protein, haemosiderin, in liver, spleen, and bone marrow in cases of excessive red cell destruction and on diets exceptionally rich in iron. A condition in which iron deposits form in tissue. Inflammation of the lungs caused by inhaling dust containing iron. Also called hemochromatosis. A nutritional disorder due to a low…

  • Sialorrhoea

    Excessive flow of saliva. The production of an excessive amount of saliva. Sialorrhoea, or ptyalism, is the excessive production of saliva. It occurs in various nervous disorders, such as parkinsonism; poisoning by mushrooms; or rabies infection.  

  • Shigella

    Bacteria that grow readily in foods, especially milk, and cause bacterial dysentery. A genus of bacteria which causes dysentery. A genus of nonmotile rodlike Gram-negative bacteria normally present in the intestinal tract of warm-blooded animals and man. They ferment carbohydrates without the formation of gas. Some species are pathogenic. S. dysenteriae is associated with bacillary…

  • Sedoheptulose (sedoheptose)

    A seven-carbon sugar which is an intermediate in glucose metabolism by the pentose phosphate pathway.  

  • Scientific advisory committee on nutrition (SACN)

    Providing expert advice to the UK Food Standards Agency and Department of Health.  

  • Schilling test

    A test of vitamin B12 absorption and status. A test to see if someone can absorb Vitamin B12 through the intestines, to determine cases of pernicious anaemia [After Robert Frederick Schilling (b. 1919), US physician]. A test of vitamin B12 blood levels, in which radioactive B12 is given orally and measured in 24-hour urine. An…