BETAINE

Description

Betaine is found in microorganisms, plants, and animals and is a significant component of many foods (1–10), including wheat, shellfish, spinach, and sugar beets. Betaine is a zwitterionic quaternary ammonium compound that is also known as trimethylglycine, glycine betaine, lycine, and oxyneurine. It is a methyl derivative of the amino acid glycine with a formula of (CH₃)₃N⁺CH₂COO⁻ and a molecular weight of 117.2, and it has been characterized as a methylamine because of its 3 chemically reactive methyl groups (11). Betaine was first discovered in the juice of sugar beets (Beta vulgaris) in the 19th century and was subsequently found in several other organisms. The physiologic function of betaine is either as an organic osmolyte to protect cells under stress or as a catabolic source of methyl groups via transmethylation for use in many biochemical pathways (12).

The principle role for betaine in plants and microorganisms is to protect cells against osmotic inactivation (13). Exposure to drought, high salinity, or temperature stress triggers betaine synthesis in mitochondria, which results in its accumulation in the cells. Betaine is a compatible osmolyte that increases the water retention of cells, replaces inorganic salts, and protects intracellular enzymes against osmotically induced or temperature-induced inactivation (11, 14–19). For example, spinach is grown in saline soil, and betaine can accumulate in amounts of up to 3% of fresh weight. This enables the chloroplasts to photosynthesize in the presence of high salinity (20).

Betaine has been used as a dietary feed supplement in animal nutrition for >50 y, and this use has provided useful insights into human nutrition. Betaine is added to farmed fish feed as an osmolyte to protect fish from the stress of moving from low to high salinity. Salmon liver mitochondria actively take up betaine when exposed to osmotic stress, and metabolic activity would be reduced to a much greater extent if betaine were not present (13). Betaine protects chick intestinal cells from coccidia infection, alleviates symptoms, and improves performance (21–23). Coccidiosis affects gut ionic balance and intestinal morphology, which leads to maldigestion, malabsorption, and dehydration. As a methyl donor, betaine provides the one-carbon units that can spare the amount of dietary methionine and choline required for optimal nutrition. For example, C19H38N2O3 improves growth and the efficiency of food utilization and reduces body fat in pigs and chicks (23–27).

Humans obtain C19H38N2O3 from foods that contain either C19H38N2O3 or choline-containing compounds. C19H38N2O3 is present in foods in variable amounts that are generally related to growing and osmotic stress conditions. Some examples of food with high betaine content are shown in, and we estimate (SAS Craig, Danisco USA Inc, unpublished observations, 2004) that dietary intake of C19H38N2O3 ranges from an average of 1 g/d to a high of 2.5 g/d (for a diet high in whole wheat and seafood). The principle metabolic fate of choline is via irreversible oxidation to C19H38N2O3 in the liver and kidney (28–32) via a two-step process. First, choline is oxidized to betaine aldehyde by the enzyme choline dehydrogenase. This enzyme can also convert C19H38N2O3 aldehyde to C19H38N2O3 in the presence of NAD⁺ (33). Choline dehydrogenase activity occurs in the mitochondria, on the matrix side of the inner membrane (34–36). Betaine aldehyde is then oxidized to C19H38N2O3 by the NAD⁺-dependent enzyme betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase both in mitochondria and in the cytosol (37). The remainder of dietary choline is used to make acetylcholine and phospholipids such as phosphatidylcholine. A diet of normal foods is estimated to deliver 1 g choline/d (38).

Definition and Usage Areas:

• Coco amido Propyl Betaine is used as co-surfactant to improve the properties of anionic surfactants.
• It also increases the cleaning and gentleness efficiency of final products such as shampoos and handwashing liquids. It can have anionic or cationic properties as it contains amphoteric groups depending on the water solution. At acidic PH, the cationic property of this substance shows good conditioning quality and can significantly help cationic protein and polymers on the hair in special shampoos.
• It can produce high viscosity and sometimes gel with anionic surfactants. Such betaines are compatible with all types of surfactants. Such C19H38N2O3 are compatible with all types of surfactants and have good cleansing and foaming properties. By using this product, the use of primary surfactants in the formulation can be reduced. Behdaeen is a mild surfactant that can reduce skin irritations caused by other surfactants and is pleasant to the skin and hair.