betaine
a colorless, crystalline, water-soluble, sweet-tasting alkaloid, C5H11NO2, usually obtained from sugar beets or synthesized from glycine, used chiefly in medicine.
Origin of betaine
1- Also called lycine, oxyneurine, trimethylglycine.
- Also be·ta·in [bee-tuh-in, bih-tey-]. /ˈbi tə ɪn, bɪˈteɪ-/.
Words Nearby betaine
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use betaine in a sentence
A hydrochlorate, a sulphate, an aurochloride, and a platinic chloride of betaine have been prepared.
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 Blythbetaine and choline often occur together in the germs of many plants.
The Chemistry of Plant Life | Roscoe Wilfred Thatcher
British Dictionary definitions for betaine
/ (ˈbiːtəˌiːn, -ɪn, bɪˈteɪiːn, -ɪn) /
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
Origin of betaine
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for 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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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