Betaine

Betaine (Trimethylglycine) is a natural compound found in many foods and also an active methyl-donor which can maintain normal DNA methylation patterns[1,2]. Betaine is found ubiquitously in plants, animals, microorganisms, and rich dietary sources including seafood, spinach, and wheat bran. Betaine also acts as an osmolyte, to maintain the avian’s cellular water and ion balance to improve the avian’s capacity against heat stress via preventing dehydration and osmotic inactivation. It helps in maintaining the protective osmolytic activity, especially in heat-stressed birds. Betaine may promote various intestinal microbes against osmotic variations and thus improve microbial fermentation activity[3].

[1]Guo Y, et al. Betaine Effects on Morphology, Proliferation, and p53-induced Apoptosis of HeLa Cervical Carcinoma Cells in Vitro. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2015;16(8):3195-201.|[2]Dou X, et al. Rectification of impaired adipose tissue methylation status and lipolytic response contributes to hepatoprotective effect of betaine in a mouse model of alcoholic liver disease. Br J Pharmacol. 2014 Sep;171(17):4073-86.|[3]Saeed M, et al. Reconsidering betaine as a natural anti-heat stress agent in poultry industry: a review. Trop Anim Health Prod. 2017 Oct;49(7):1329-1338.Clin Chim Acta. 2023 Dec 16:117726.|J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2024 Jun 25:1243:124210.|Cardiol Res. 2023 Dec;14(6):453-463.