hydrolytic

Any reaction in which water is one of the reactants, more specifically the combination of water with a salt to produce an acid and a base, one of which is more dissociated than the other. It involves a chemical decomposition in which a substance is split into simpler compounds by the addition or the taking up of the elements of water. This kind of reaction occurs extremely frequently in life processes. The conversion of starch to maltose, of fat to glycerol and fatty acid, and of protein to amino acids are examples of hydrolysis, as are other reactions involved in digestion. A simple example is the reaction in which the hydrolysis of ethyl acetate yields acetic acid and ethyl alcohol: C₂H₅C₂H₃O₂ + H₂O = CH₃COOH + C₂H₅OH. Usually such reactions are reversible; the reversed reaction is called esterification, condensation, or dehydration synthesis.

Any reaction in which water is one of the reactants, more specifically the combination of water with a salt to produce an acid and a base, one of which is more dissociated than the other. It involves a chemical decomposition in which a substance is split into simpler compounds by the addition or the taking up of the elements of water. This kind of reaction occurs extremely frequently in life processes. The conversion of starch to maltose, of fat to glycerol and fatty acid, and of protein to amino acids are examples of hydrolysis, as are other reactions involved in digestion. A simple example is the reaction in which the hydrolysis of ethyl acetate yields acetic acid and ethyl alcohol: C₂H₅C₂H₃O₂ + H₂O = CH₃COOH + C₂H₅OH. Usually such reactions are reversible; the reversed reaction is called esterification, condensation, or dehydration synthesis.