#nitrogen

• Prickly moses — A species of small thorny shrub endemic to southwestern Western Australia, remarkable for its ecological value and delicate beauty. The plant features true, finely divided, deep green bipinnate leaves, protected by sharp stipular spines located at the stem nodes. Popularly known as the 'prickly moses', this species is famous not only for its brilliant golden-yellow globular inflorescences, but also for its unique capacity to fix nitrogen in the soil and to display a natural resistance against the destructive attacks of the dieback fungus Phytophthora cinnamomi.
• Adenine — A fundamental purine nitrogenous base, with a heterocyclic structure composed of two condensed rings, an essential component of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA). It plays a crucial structural role in storing and transmitting genetic information through specific hydrogen bonds with thymine or uracil, being also a key element in molecules vital for cellular energy metabolism, such as ATP.
• Adetine — A complex nitrogenous organic substance, structurally derived from purine bases or related amino-acidic compounds, studied in biological chemistry laboratories for its role in nucleoside synthesis or cellular metabolic reactions. This biochemical compound is analyzed in laboratory research as a fine structural marker or intermediate metabolite in nucleic acid degradation pathways.
• Air — The invisible, odorless, and tasteless gaseous mixture that makes up the Earth's atmosphere, structurally composed mainly of nitrogen (about 78%) and oxygen (about 21%), along with small amounts of argon, carbon dioxide, and other gases. Figuratively, the term describes an appearance, demeanor, a specific atmosphere of a place, or a gentle breeze of wind.
• Elaeagnus — An unofficial, erroneous, or regional orthographic variant for the deciduous or semi-evergreen plant genus 'Elaeagnus' belonging to the Elaeagnaceae family, native to Asia and Europe (such as the silverberry or wild olive); it is structurally distinguished by silvery foliage covered with scaly stellate hairs and the production of reddish or yellow, often edible berries. These robust shrubs possess an exceptional biological capacity to fix nitrogen in the soil through root bacterial nodules, being heavily used in ecological landscape design for stabilizing eroded soils and creating drought-resistant hedges.
• Alkaloid — A nitrogenous organic substance, typically possessing a basic (alkaline) character and a complex heterocyclic structure, primarily biosynthesized by plants, but also by certain fungi or animals. Alkaloids exhibit intense pharmacodynamic action on the central nervous system and the human body, functioning, depending on the dosage, as essential medicines, stimulants, or highly violent poisons (for example: morphine, caffeine, nicotine, atropine, quinine).
• Aldimines — A class of nitrogenous organic compounds formally derived from an aldehyde, by replacing the carbonyl oxygen atom with an imino group (=N-R or =N-H). These represent secondary imines or Schiff bases with the general structure R-CH=N-R', serving as highly valuable intermediates in fine organic synthesis, drug manufacturing, and enzymatic biochemistry.
• Aldoxime — A nitrogenous organic compound belonging to the oxime class, formally or practically obtained through the condensation reaction of an aldehyde with hydroxylamine (NH2OH), having the general structure R-CH=N-OH. This type of oxime is characterized by the presence of a hydrogen atom bonded to the azomethine carbon, unlike ketoximes, serving as a valuable intermediate in nitrile and amide synthesis.
• Alder — Taxonomic genus of deciduous trees and shrubs in the Betulaceae family, commonly known as alders. Characterized by roots with symbiotic nodules capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen and by woody fruits resembling small cones, the genus includes numerous species widespread across temperate and subarctic zones.
• Alnus glutinosa — The scientific name of the black alder, a deciduous tree species in the family Betulaceae, native to most of Europe, Western Asia, and northern Africa. This structural tree thrives in excessively wet soils, swamps, and along watercourses, possessing the ecological ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen into the soil through root bacterial symbiosis and features dark green leaves that are sticky when young.
• Alnus viridis — The scientific name of the green alder, a species of perennial shrub in the Betulaceae family, adapted to cold climates, mountainous, or subarctic zones; it plays a crucial structural ecological role in stabilizing steep soils, preventing erosion, and fixing atmospheric nitrogen through root symbioses.
• Amarine — A toxic organic substance, alkaloid, or complex heterocyclic compound historically extracted from bitter fruit kernels or synthesized from hydrobenzamide, characterized by an extremely bitter taste and crystalline structure.
• Amidase — An enzyme belonging to the hydrolase class that catalyzes the hydrolytic cleavage of a linear amide bond, converting an amide compound into a carboxylic acid and ammonia or a corresponding amine. This biocatalyst plays an essential structural role in nitrogen metabolism, cellular detoxification processes, and industrial biocatalysis used for the enantioselective synthesis of high-purity pharmaceutical compounds.
• Aminous — Containing or exhibiting the characteristics of an amino group or an nitrogen-modified carbohydrate structure; relating to compounds that possess a high content of aminic radicals. It can also function contextually as a simplified structural or linguistic variant for amino sugars found in the composition of complex polysaccharides within cell walls.
• Ammonification — The biological and chemical process of decomposing nitrogenous organic substances (such as proteins, amino acids, or urea from plant and animal residues) by soil microorganisms (ammonifying bacteria and fungi), resulting in the release of nitrogen as ammonia or ammonium ions. This stage is fundamental within the natural nitrogen cycle, transforming complex compounds into mineral forms accessible to plants.
• Anazoturia — A pathological condition or structural biochemical anomaly manifested by the complete absence or extreme reduction of urea and other nitrogenous compounds in the urine excreted by the patient. This clinical phenomenon indicates a severe functional impairment of the liver (inability to synthesize urea) or terminal acute renal failure (inability to filter and excrete nitrogenous waste).
• Grey alder — A species of tree from the Betulaceae family (Alnus incana), featuring smooth grey-white bark and ovate leaves covered with greyish hairs on the underside. It is a medium-sized, frost-resistant tree that grows wild in mountain river floodplains and hilly areas, playing a crucial ecological role in stabilizing eroded soils and fixing nitrogen biologically through root nodules.
• Asparagine — A non-essential amino acid, being the first one historically isolated from natural sources (asparagus juice in 1806); it plays a crucial role in human protein biosynthesis, central nervous system metabolism as a neurotransmitter precursor, and in the clearance of toxic ammonia from the body via urea transformation; it is also a key structural compound in the nitrogen metabolism of many higher plants.
• Azide — A chemical compound, a salt of hydrazoic acid, or an organic derivative containing the structural functional group consisting of three linearly bound nitrogen atoms (N3-). Inorganic azides (such as sodium azide) are highly reactive ionic substances, used in airbag systems due to their ultra-fast decomposition releasing massive amounts of nitrogen gas, whereas organic azides are crucial pillars in fine chemical synthesis and biochemistry ('click chemistry' reactions).
• Azine — A heterocyclic organic chemical compound containing one or more nitrogen atoms within a six-membered structural ring (such as pyridine); also, a generic term used to designate derivatives resulting from the condensation of hydrazine with two molecules of a carbonyl compound (aldehydes or ketones).