Eijkman test

Eijk·man test

noun \ˈāk-mən-, ˈīk-\

Definition of EIJKMAN TEST

: a test for the identification of coliform bacteria from warm-blooded animals based on the bacteria's ability to produce gas when grown in glucose media at 46°C (114.8°F)

Biographical Note for EIJKMAN TEST

Eijkman, Christiaan (1858–1930), Dutch physiologist. Eijkman introduced his test for coliform bacteria in a 1904 paper. His most important work, however, concerned the etiology of beriberi. While in the Dutch East Indies, he studied fowl affected with polyneuritis, a condition similar to beriberi, and discovered in 1897 that the disease was caused by a diet of polished rice. A cure was effected by restoring the discarded hulls to the diet. In 1929 Eijkman was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.