betaine
English
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Trimethylglycine.png/220px-Trimethylglycine.png)
Noun
betaine (countable and uncountable, plural betaines)
- (uncountable, organic chemistry) A sweet, crystalline compound (not an alkaloid), trimethylammoniumacetate, found in sugar beet and similar plants, sometimes used to treat muscular degeneracy; the zwitterion (CH3)3N+CH2COO-
- (countable, organic chemistry) Any derivative of this compound.
- (countable, organic chemistry, by extension) Any similar compound, based on sulfur or phosphorus etc, having an onium ion with no hydrogen atom adjacent to the anionic atom.