pu·tres·cine (pyo?o-tr?s??n)n. A colorless, foul-smelling polyamine, C4H12N2, produced in decaying animal tissue by the decarboxylation of ornithine.[Latin putr?scere, to rot; see putrescent + -ine.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.putrescine (pju??tr?si?n; -?n) n (Biochemistry) a colourless crystalline amine produced by decaying animal matter; 1,4-diaminobutane. Formula: H2N(CH2)4NH2[C20: from Latin putrescere + -ine2]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014