What does sequestrant mean?
Sequestrant is a noun for an agent that sequesters, most often a chemical substance that binds or renders another substance unavailable. In medicine and nutrition, calcium and phosphate sequestrants form stable complexes that the body cannot readily absorb, thereby reducing the availability of those minerals. The word can also describe a person or body that holds property under legal sequestration. Its technical use is precise rather than decorative: a sequestrant is the active agent, while sequestration names the process of setting something apart. The term is consequently useful in scientific, pharmaceutical, dietary, and legal contexts, but it is uncommon in ordinary conversation. When describing a sequestrant, it is important to identify what it binds or isolates and in what setting, because different disciplines use the word for distinct kinds of holding or making unavailable.
nounAn agent that sequesters something. Most commonly, a chemical or pharmaceutical substance that binds or renders another substance unavailable; in legal contexts, a person or body that holds property under sequestration.
- A chemical, pharmaceutical, or dietary agent that binds or otherwise makes another substance unavailable.
- A person or body that takes possession of or holds property under legal sequestration.
"The dietary supplement contains a phosphate sequestrant that reduces the mineral's absorption in the intestine."
"The dietary supplement contains a phosphate sequestrant that reduces the mineral's absorption in the intestine."
"The sequestrant remained in custody pending the court's decision regarding the disputed property."
The plural is used when referring to multiple substances or agents that perform the same sequestering function.
"The researchers compared several sequestrants for their ability to bind calcium."
It sounds like an action, but a sequestrant is the thing doing the sequestering.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does sequestrant come from?
Sequestrant was formed in English from sequester and the agent-forming suffix -ant. English sequester comes through Anglo-French from Latin sequestrare, meaning to set apart, remove, or banish, with an early association with withholding property. The same Latin root underlies cognates such as sequestration and sequestrate.
Related word forms
How sequestrant is actually used
The chemical sense is specialized but established in medicine, nutrition, and environmental science. The legal sense is uncommon and chiefly technical. The word normally names an agent, not the process of sequestration itself.
Easily confused with sequestrant
A sequestrant is the agent that holds or binds something, whereas sequestration is the process or state of setting something apart.