cibation

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun In alchemy, the act of adding to the matter in preparation fresh substances, to supply the waste of evaporation, etc.: the seventh process in alchemy.
• noun In physiology, the act of taking food, particularly the more solid kinds.
• noun Any chemical operation that gives a substance consistency and solidity.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun The act of taking food.
• noun (Alchemy) The process or operation of feeding the contents of the crucible with fresh material.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun obsolete The act of taking food.
• noun obsolete, alchemy The operation of feeding the contents of the crucible with fresh material.