Al"ka*loid (#), Al`ka*loid"al (#), a. [Alkali + -oid: cf. F. alcaloide.]
Pertaining to, resembling, or containing, alkali.
© Webster 1913.
Al"ka*loid (#), n. Chem.
An organic base, especially one of a class of substances occurring ready formed in the tissues of plants and the bodies of animals.
⇒ Alcaloids all contain nitrogen, carbon, and hydrogen, and many of them also contain oxygen. They include many of the active principles in plants; thus, morphine and narcotine are alkaloids found in opium.
© Webster 1913.