Word Study
betaine
CIDE DICTIONARY
betaine, n. [From beta, generic name of the beet.].
A nitrogenous base, C5H11NO2 , produced artificially, and also occurring naturally in beet-root molasses and its residues, from which it is extracted as a white crystalline substance; -- called also lycine and oxyneurine . It has a sweetish taste. [1913 Webster]
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