rotenone

English

Etymology

From Japanese ローテン (rōten) +‎ -one (“ketone”), from Hokkien 蘆藤／芦藤 (lôo-tîn, “Derris elliptica”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

rotenone (countable and uncountable, plural rotenones)

1. (chemistry) A toxic crystalline substance obtained from the roots of derris and related plants, widely used as an insecticide.
   • 2009 March 27, Ken-ichi Takeuchi et al., “Changes in Temperature Preferences and Energy Homeostasis in Dystroglycan Mutants”, in Science‎^[1], volume 323, number 5922, →DOI, pages 1740–1743:

     The cryophilic phenotype of the atu mutant was alleviated to some extent by administering rotenone, a pharmacological inhibitor of oxidative phosphorylation, but not tolbutamide, a sulphonylurea that stimulates metabolic rate by raising the lymphatic concentration of glucose.

Synonyms

• nicouline (dated)

Derived terms

• rotenolone
• rotenonic acid

References

• “rotenone”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.