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.

&fist; 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.