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betaine

[bee-tuh-een, -in; bih-tey-een, -in]

noun Chemistry, Pharmacology.

a colorless, crystalline, water-soluble, sweet-tasting alkaloid, C₅H₁₁NO₂, usually obtained from sugar beets or synthesized from glycine, used chiefly in medicine.

Also, be·ta·in

[bee-tuh-in, bih-tey-] .

Also called lycine, oxyneurine, trimethylglycine.

Origin:
1875–80; < Latin bēta beet + -ine²

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Betaine is always a great word to know.

So is glacial. Does it mean:

of, pertaining to, or tending to develop into icelike crystals: glacial phosphoric acid

a highly concentrated, aqueous solution of potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide, or any solution resulting from leaching or percolation

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Collins

World English Dictionary

betaine (ˈbiːtəˌiːn, -ɪn, bɪˈteɪiːn, -ɪn)

—n
1.	a sweet-tasting alkaloid that occurs in the sugar beet and other plants and in animals. Formula: C₅H₁₁NO₂
2.	(plural) a group of chemical compounds that resemble betaine and are slightly basic zwitterions

[C19: from New Latin Bēta beet + -ine²]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

betaine be·ta·ine (bē'tə-ēn', -ĭn)
n.
A sweet crystalline alkaloid occurring in sugar beets and other plants and used in the treatment of muscular degeneration.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage

Science Dictionary

betaine

(bē'tə-ēn', -ĭn) Pronunciation Key

Any of a class of organic salts that are derived from amino acids and have a cationic (positively charged) component that consists of a nitrogen atom attached to three methyl (CH₃) groups.
A salt of this class that is a sweet crystalline alkaloid first found in sugar beets but also widely occurring in other plants and in animals. Betaine is used in the treatment of muscular weakness and degeneration. Chemical formula: C₅H₁₁NO₂.

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Related Words

lycine oxyneurine

oxyneurine

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