Terminology Lesson 3, Page 9 of 20

Antigalactic refers to a substance that prevents or decreases the secretion of milk.

Other words that contain gala (or its combining forms gal-, galact-, or galacto-) include:

galactose - a simple sugar derived from the milk sugar lactose. (The suffix -ose means a sugar.)
galactase - an enzyme that is used by the body to help digest galactose. (The suffix -ase means an enzyme. Compare with lactase, an enzyme used to break down lactose, or milk sugar, into its two component parts—the simple sugars galactose and dextrose. Lac-, by the way, is the Latin combining form for "milk.")
agalactia [a, not + "] absence of milk secretion after childbirth

The Greek combining form -agogue means "to produce" or "to lead forth." It is combined with other word elements to produce many words that are very useful to herbalists.

What is a galactagogue?

A. a dairy cow
B. an agent that promotes the flow of milk
C. the opposite of antigalactic
D. Both B and C

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