betaine

[bee-tuh-een, -in; bih-tey-een, -in]

noun Chemistry, Pharmacology.

a colorless, crystalline, water-soluble, sweet-tasting alkaloid, C5H11NO2, usually obtained from sugar beets or synthesized from glycine, used chiefly in medicine.

Also be·ta·in

[bee-tuh-in, bih-tey-] /ˈbi tə ɪn, bɪˈteɪ-/.

Origin of betaine

1875–80; < Latin bēta beet + -ine²

Also called lycine, oxyneurine, trimethylglycine.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for betaine

Historical Examples of betaine

A hydrochlorate, a sulphate, an aurochloride, and a platinic chloride of betaine have been prepared.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I
Arnold Cooley
Betaine and choline often occur together in the germs of many plants.
The Chemistry of Plant Life
Roscoe Wilfred Thatcher
It is a product of the decomposition of choline, betaine, and neuridine, when these substances are distilled with potash.
Poisons: Their Effects and Detection
Alexander Wynter Blyth

British Dictionary definitions for betaine

betaine

noun

a sweet-tasting alkaloid that occurs in the sugar beet and other plants and in animals. Formula: C 5 H 11 NO 2

(plural) a group of chemical compounds that resemble betaine and are slightly basic zwitterions

Word Origin for betaine

C19: from New Latin Bēta beet + -ine ²

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

betaine in Medicine

betaine

[bē′tə-ēn′, -ĭn]

n.

A sweet crystalline alkaloid found in sugar beets and other plants, used to treat homocystinuria and other disorders.

betaine in Science

betaine

[bē′tə-ēn′, -ĭn]

Any of a class of organic salts that are derived from amino acids and have a cationic (positively charged) component that consists of a nitrogen atom attached to three methyl (CH3) groups.

A salt of this class that is a sweet crystalline alkaloid first found in sugar beets but also widely occurring in other plants and in animals. Betaine is used in the treatment of muscular weakness and degeneration. Chemical formula: C5H11NO2.