noun · countable / uncountable · rare

betaine

betaine · betaines

A sweet, crystalline compound, trimethylammoniumacetate, found in sugar beet and…A sweet, crystalline compound (not an alkaloid), trimethylammoniumacetate, found in sugar beet and similar plants, sometimes used to treat muscular degeneracy; the zwitterion (CH₃)₃N⁺CH₂COO⁻

Meaning

3 senses

(uncountable)A sweet, crystalline compound (not an alkaloid), trimethylammoniumacetate, found in sugar beet and similar plants, sometimes used to treat muscular degeneracy; the zwitterion (CH₃)₃N⁺CH₂COO⁻
a sweet tasting alkaloid that occurs in sugar beets
(countable)Any derivative of this compound.
(broadly, countable)Any similar compound, based on sulfur or phosphorus etc, having an onium ion with no hydrogen atom adjacent to the anionic atom.