Betaine

July 19, 2010
Image of Betaine

"Betaine" is the name of a class of zwitterionic compounds, but it is also commonly used to refer to glycine betaine, or trimethylglycine, pictured. Glycine betaine exists widely in nature; it was first isolated from the sugar beet Beta vulgaris, from which it takes its name. Betaine has many uses, including cosmetics, aircraft deicing, crop protection, fermentation, and animal and human nutrition.

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