Conversion into soap, denoting the hydrolytic action of an alkali on fat, especially on triacylglycerols; in histochemistry, s. is used to demethylate or reverse blockage of carboxylic acid groups, thus permitting basophilia to occur. [sapo- (sapon-) + L. facio, to make]
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sa·pon·i·fi·ca·tion sə-.pän-ə-fə-'kā-shən n
1) the hydrolysis of a fat by an alkali with the formation of a soap and glycerol
2) the hydrolysis esp. by an alkali of an ester into the corresponding alcohol and acid broadly HYDROLYSIS
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sa·pon·i·fi·ca·tion (sə-pon″ĭ-fĭ-kaґshən) [L. sapo soap + facere to make] hydrolysis of an ester by an alkali, resulting in the production of a free alcohol and an alkali salt of the ester acid; originally, the act or process of converting fats into soaps and glycerol by heating with alkalis.Medical dictionary. 2011.