Natural Betaine: Function and Practical Application

摘要

Natural betaine can be found in a wide variety of plant and animal species albeit it at widely varying levels. In living systems, natural betaine, a charge-neutral zwitterion readily capable of hydrogen-bonding with water, is used as an osmolyte to aid in maintenance of cellular water balance and as a methyl group donor. Betaine also can serve as a chemoattractant in some marine species. While vertebrates have a limited ability to produce betaine within the body, this does not affect the response tosupplemental natural betaine. In its methyl role for vertebrates, natural betaine donates a methyl group to homocysteine via an enzymatic reaction in the liver's transmethylation pathway to form methionine, this allows the body to recycle the nonessential/nonstructural amino acid homocysteine back to methionine. Natural betaine's osmolyte role helps minimize water loss from cells, tissue or the body particularly during periods of dehydrating stresses. Research has documented responses to natural betainein diverse areas such as hydration during osmotic stress, villus height in coccidia-challenged birds, breast meat yield in poultry, energy utilization and litter size in swine. Regardless of the measured parameter, all responses seen with natural betaine relate to one or both of its physiological functions.