Betaine hydrochloride (BHC), as an ionic salt was found to be an efficient and recyclable catalyst for the one-pot synthesis of 4-thiazolidinediones. The methodology of study was achieved by one-pot condensation of aromatic aldehydes, aromatic amine and mercaptoacetic acid in the presence of betaine hydrochloride (BHC) at reflux temperature in ethanol as solvent. The efficiency of Betaine hydro...

The importance of the one-carbon metabolites, choline and homocysteine, to brain function is well known. However, the associations between the one-carbon metabolites choline, betaine, methionine and dimethylglycine with cognition in elderly are unclear. We therefore examined the associations of these metabolites with cognition in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Individuals (n 195) wer...

BACKGROUND Low dietary intake of the essential nutrient choline and its metabolite betaine may increase atherogenesis both through effects on homocysteine methylation pathways as well as through choline's antioxidants properties. Nutrient values for many common foods for choline and betaine have recently become available in the U.S. nutrient composition database. Our objective was to assess the...

PURPOSE To examine the effect of betaine supplementation on cycling sprint performance. METHODS Sixteen recreationally active subjects (7 females and 9 males) completed three sprint tests, each consisting of four 12 sec efforts against a resistance equal to 5.5% of body weight; efforts were separated by 2.5 min of cycling at zero resistance. Test one established baseline; test two and three w...

Previous studies suggested that betaine intake might antagonize the induction of oxidative stress-mediated acute liver injury through regulation of the sulfur-amino acid metabolism. In this study we examined the protective effects of betaine on chronic liver injury and fibrosis induced by dimethylnitrosamine (DMN). Male rats were supplemented with betaine (1%, w/v) in drinking water from 2 week...

Identifying markers of human insulin resistance may permit development of new approaches for treatment and prevention of type 2 diabetes. To this end, we analyzed the fasting plasma metabolome in metabolically characterized human volunteers across a spectrum of insulin resistance. We demonstrate that plasma betaine levels are reduced in insulin-resistant humans and correlate closely with insuli...

Compatible solutes such as glycine betaine and proline betaine are accumulated to exceedingly high intracellular levels by many organisms in response to high osmolarity to offset the loss of cell water. They are excluded from the immediate hydration shell of proteins and thereby stabilize their native structure. Despite their exclusion from protein surfaces, the periplasmic ligand-binding prote...

Induced expression of the HSP70 gene in 3T3 and SV-3T3 cells was monitored by measurements of the synthesis of HSP70 and of the cellular contents of both HSP70 and its mRNA. The presence of betaine (N-trimethylglycine) at concentrations of 2.5-25 mM decreased the induction of HSP70 gene expression caused by incubation of 3T3 and SV-3T3 cells in hypertonic (0.5 osM) medium. This effect was accom...

Betaine is used to treat homocystinuria and is not available in Canada as a formulated drug. In order to facilitate the administration of this compound to patients, a capsule formulation and an evaluation of its stability were required. Capsule formulations of betaine were developed (160 mg and 625 mg of betaine per capsule). As betaine has no chromophore, an HPLC-ELSD analytical method was als...

Halobacillus trueperi accumulates glycine betaine under condition of high osmolarity. A fragment of the glycine betaine transporter betH gene was obtained from the genome of H. trueperi with degenerate primers. Through Southern blot hybridization and inverse PCR, a 5.1 kb EcoRI fragment containing the complete betH gene was identified and subsequently sequenced. The betH gene was predicted to e...