1. The dried ripe seeds of Brassica alba (white m.) and B. nigra (black m.) (family Cruciferae). 2. SYN: m. gas. [O.Fr. moustarde, fr. L. mustum, must]
- black m. the dried ripe seed of Brassica nigra or of B. juncea; it is the source of allyl isothiocyanate; it contains sinigrin (potassium myronate); myrosin; sinapine sulfocyanate; erucic, behenic, and synapolic acids; and fixed oil; a prompt emetic, a rubefacient, and a condiment.
- m. chlorohydrin SYN: hemisulfur m..
- nitrogen mustards (HN2) compounds of the general formula R— N(CH2CH2C1) the prototype is HN-2 nitrogen m., mechlorethamine, in which R is CH3. Some have been used therapeutically for their destructive action upon lymphoid tissue in lymphosarcoma, leukemia, Hodgkin disease, and certain other cancers; most are blister agents. SEE ALSO: mechlorethamine hydrochloride.
- semisulfur m. SYN: hemisulfur m..
- uracil m. uracil m..
- white m. the ripe seeds of Brassica (Sinapis) alba; less pungent than black m., but with the same constituents and uses.
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mus·tard 'məs-tərd n
1) a pungent yellow condiment consisting of the pulverized seeds of the black mustard or sometimes the white mustard either dry or made into a paste and serving as a stimulant and diuretic or in large doses as an emetic and as a counterirritant when applied to the skin as a poultice
2) any of several herbs (genus Brassica of the family Cruciferae, the mustard family) with lobed leaves, yellow flowers, and linear beaked pods see BLACK MUSTARD (1), WHITE MUSTARD
3 a) MUSTARD GAS
b) NITROGEN MUSTARD
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mus·tard (musґtərd) [L. sinapis] 1. any of several plants of the genus Brassica. 2. the ripe seeds of black mustard or white mustard; when they are crushed and moistened, volatile oils are liberated that are responsible for the counterirritant, stimulant, and emetic properties of mustard. 3. resembling, or something resembling, mustard in one or more of its properties; e.g., mustard gas, named for its odor.Medical dictionary. 2011.