Beetroot powder

Betaine is a natural compound, and belonging to a kind of quaternary ammonium alkaloids. 

Betaine is widely presented in plants and animals with beet containing the highest content among plants. In animal body, betaine is acted as a highly active methyl donor which plays a important role in regulating the metabolism of methyl group, and can partially substitute the methionine and choline, and thus promoting fat metabolism, improving feed palatability, alleviating heat stress, regulating the osmotic pressure of the body, and maintaining the stability of the vitamin premix for improving farming efficiency.
Inside animal bodies, betaine provide methyl group to cysteine, generating methionine which is further converted into S-adenosine methionine, and further transferring methyl group then to DNA, RNA, protein, creatine, lipids and other important methyl-containing ingredients. Methyl group is very unstable and can’t be synthesized by animals themselves but can only rely on food supply. The efficiency of betaine of providing methyl group is 1.2 times as high as choline chloride, and 3.8 times as high as methionine. Choline itself can’t act as a methyl donor which must be first transported to the mitochondria for oxidation into betaine and finally released into the cytoplasm before being able to act as a methyl donor. Studies have shown: Adding 1.25 kg of this product at per ton of pig feed has no effect on growth, development and feed efficiency, but causing 15% decrease in back fat content and increasing the tenderloin quantity in cross-sectional area, improving carcass meat; adding betaine to chicken feed can reduce the necessary amount of dietary methionine. During the initial phase of broiler feed, adding 750 g of betaine pre ton of feed can substitute 1.5 kg of methionine, and adding 450 g of betaine can substitute 1 kg of methionine during the latter phase. Betaine also has effects on prevention and treatment of fatty liver of pigs, chickens and fish.