Betaine was first extracted from beet and molasses. It is sweet, slightly bitter, soluble in water and ethanol, and has strong antioxidant properties. It can provide methyl for material metabolism in animals. Lysine participates in the metabolism of amino acids and proteins, can promote fat metabolism, and has a preventive effect on fatty liver.

Betaine is used as feed additive in animals. Feeding young poultry with betaine can improve meat quality and increase meat output. The study showed that the body fat increment of young birds fed with betaine was lower than that of young birds fed with methionine, and the meat yield increased by 3.7%. The study found that betaine mixed with ion carrier anti coccidiosis drugs can significantly reduce the risk of animals infected with coccidia, and then improve their growth performance and resistance. Especially for broilers and piglets, the addition of betaine in their feed can improve their intestinal function, prevent diarrhea, and improve food intake, which has outstanding practical value. In addition, the addition of betaine in the feed can alleviate the stress response of piglets, and then improve the feed intake and growth rate of weaned piglets.

Betaine is an excellent food attractant in aquaculture, which can improve the palatability of artificial feed, promote fish growth, improve feed remuneration, and play an important role in increasing fish intake, improving feed conversion rate and reducing costs. During the storage and transportation of feed, vitamin content is generally lost due to degradation. Adding betaine to feed can effectively maintain the potency of vitamin and reduce the loss of feed nutrients during storage and transportation.