adenosine

What it means

1. biochemistryA nucleoside derived from adenine and ribose, found in striated muscle tissue.First known use 20th c.

   Adenosine levels can be quickly righted after a few nights of good sleep, however.

   2022 June 24, Oliver Whang, “The Sleep Debt Collector Is Here”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

   3 more examples

   Caffeine acts as an antagonist at receptors in the brain for one of the chemical messengers called adenosine.

   2001, Leslie Iversen, Drugs: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, page 82

   Think of adenosine as a chemical barometer that continuously registers the amount of elapsed time since you woke up this morning.

   2017, Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep, Penguin, published 2018, page 27

   SAM: Readings confirmed. Based on the levels of adenosine in your system, the neural implant is functioning properly.

   2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Hyperion

In a sentence

Caffeine acts as an antagonist at receptors in the brain for one of the chemical messengers called adenosine.

2001, Leslie Iversen, Drugs: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, page 82

Where it comes from

1. GermanAdenosin
2. Englishadenosine

From German Adenosin, corresponding to aden(ine) + (rib)os(e) + -ine.

First known use: 20th c.