Betaine is a white powder or white crystalline compound, is a trimethylamine alkaloid, widely exists in plants and animals, especially the highest content in beets.Betaine is a natural,non-toxic, pollution-free and residue free compound. It plays an indispensable role in aquaculture industry.

When methyl supply is insufficient, animal body can make high hemiaminic acid accept methyl of betaine by increasing BHMT activity, and synthesize methionine to provide methyl.  When low dose betaine is added, due to the limited methyl supply in the body, the liver can increase the cycle times of homocysteine methionine by increasing the activity of BMT and using betaine as substrate to provide sufficient methyl for the metabolism of substances in the body.  It is safe to replace part of methionine in meat duck diet with betaine. Betaine can be absorbed by chicken intestinal cells, reduce the damage of drugs to intestinal cells, improve the absorption function of chicken intestinal cells, promote the absorption of nutrients, and ultimately improve the performance and disease resistance of chickens.

For weaned piglets, growing pigs and finishing pigs fed diets supplemented with 800mg.1000mg and 1750mg/kg betaine, daily gain increased by 8.71%N13.20% and 13.32%, serum GH level increased by 46.15%102.11% and 58.33%IGF level increased by 38.74, respectively  %4.75% and 47.95%(Yu Dongyou et al. 2001).Dietary betaine can also improve reproductive performance of sows, increase birth weight and litter live size of piglets, and has no adverse effects on pregnant sows.