Betaine is glycine methyl lactone extracted from beet processing byproducts, is a quaternary amine alkaloid, because it was first separated from beet molasses, so it is called betaine。Betaine mainly exists in the molasses of beet sugar and is ubiquitous in plants. It is an efficient methyl supplier in animals and participates in methyl metabolism。It can replace part of methionine and choline in feed and promote feed and growth of animal, improve feed utilization rate.

In addition to relying on vision, fish feeding is also related to smell and taste.Although the artificial bait input in aquaculture is comprehensive, it is not enough to arouse the appetite of aquatic animals.Betaine is an ideal attractant because of its unique sweet taste and sensitive umami taste of fish and shrimp.  

The addition of 0.5% ~ 1.5% betaine in fish feed can stimulate the smell and taste of all fish and shrimps and other crustaceans,which plays an important role in inducing feed and improving palatability of feed, shorten feeding time,promoting digestion and absorption,accelerating the growth of fish and shrimp, and avoiding water pollution caused by feed waste.  

Various stress reactions seriously affect the feeding and growth of aquatic animals, reduce the survival rate, and even cause death.  The addition of betaine in feed can improve the decrease of aquatics food intake under disease or stress state, maintain nutrient intake, and alleviate some diseases or stress reaction.