From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhistaminehis‧ta‧mine /ˈhɪstəmiːn/ noun [countable, uncountable] medical HBMa chemical substance produced by your body during an allergic reaction → antihistamine
Examples from the Corpus
histamine• This drug is both a histamine and a serotonin antagonist, and it also has anticholinergic properties.• During the initial phase, newly formed mast cell components such as histamine, serotonin, prostaglandins, and leukotrienes may be released.• The protein was further shown to inhibit cAMP release of gastric fundic biopsies and to prevent its stimulation by histamine.• Each contains histamine, which floods through the body producing symptoms including swelling, redness and cramps.• Dissociation of initiation from propagation probably accounts for abortive spikes such as those observed in HeLa cells responding to low doses of histamine.• Antibodies formed in response to the allergens lead to the release of histamine, which is what produces allergic symptoms.• In man and other species, there is accumulating evidence that gastrin stimulates acid secretion by releasing histamine.• When cimetidine was given together with histamine, blockade of histamine 2 receptor may have reversed histamine stimulated growth.Origin histamine (1900-2000) histidine “type of amino acid” ((19-21 centuries)) (from Greek histos “web, tissue”) + amine “type of chemical compound” ((19-21 centuries)) (from ammonia) 