1. What is betaine?
Betaine is a natural compound, and most organisms contain betaine. Wheat and sugar beets are two common plants that contain high levels of betaine. When used within allowable limits, pure betaine is considered safe.
Because betaine has certain functional properties, it can become an essential nutrient (or additive) under certain conditions, so more and more pure betaine is added to the diets of pigs and poultry. However, in order to get the best results, it is important to know how much betaine to add is the best. Pure betaine is generally extracted from beet syrup. Although the content of betaine in beet is much less than that in wheat (about 80% lower), it is easier to extract betaine from beet syrup. The steps include chromatography, separation and crystallization. Betaine can also be extracted from a by-product of ethanol production from distiller's grains-beet, but it is rarely used in actual production. Commercial forms of betaine include betaine anhydrous, betaine monohydrate, betaine hydrochloride (25% hydrochloride) and betaine phosphate. Assuming that the concentration of pure betaine in anhydrous products is converted, none of the above forms has shown to bring more considerable benefits than other forms.

2.The efficacy principle of betaine
There are many kinds of betaine, all of which have zwitterionic characteristics, that is, different atoms have positive and negative charges, but the overall compound is neutral. The first such compound was discovered in sugar beets in the 19th century (hence the name betaine), and its correct chemical name is trimethylglycine, also known as glycine betaine. In animal nutrition, other betaines have not been systematically studied. Since betaine is a methyl derivative of glycine, it contains three chemically active methyl groups (CH3). This attribute enables betaine to have one of its two major biological functions, that is, as a methyl donor. The second role of betaine is to act as a natural organic osmotic regulator, participate in the regulation of water penetration, and maintain the water balance of the biofilm.

3. Betaine in organisms
In most cases, animals can synthesize betaine to meet their own body's needs. The synthesis method of betaine is the oxidation of the well-known vitamin choline. It has been proven that adding pure betaine to feed can save expensive choline. As a methyl donor, betaine can also replace the expensive methionine feed and add betaine to reduce the need for methionine and choline. Of course, the premise of the hypothesis is that the cost of use under commercial conditions can produce a saving effect, so that it has practical significance. Betaine can also be used as an anti-fatty liver agent. In some studies, adding only 0.125% sugar beet to the feed can reduce the carcass fat deposition of growing pigs by 15%. Finally, betaine has been shown to improve the digestibility of nutrients, because it provides osmotic protection for intestinal bacteria and makes the gastrointestinal environment more stable. Of course, the most important role of betaine is to prevent cell dehydration, but this is often taken for granted and therefore ignored.