Agro-industrial uses of glycinebetaine

In addition to sugar, several different compounds are presently separated from beet molasses and juices Nowadays, some of these products have proved to be economically even more important to beet sugar factories than the original product, sugar. One of these compounds is glycinebetaine (N, N’, N”-trimethylglycine, GB), an amino acid derivative accumulated in many microbes and plant species grown under stress, but also in humans. Especially halophytes belonging to families Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae Chenopodiaceae, Convolvulaceae, Graminaceae, Malvaceae, Poaceac and Portulaceae synthesize and accumulate GB. GB is assumed to have several adaptive effects on drought and salt stressed plants according to studies mostly based on research work established with cell cultures, bacteria, or isolated chloroplasts. The known role of GB is to maintain water content in animal and plant cells by lowering solute potential under osmotic stress, i.e. to act in osmotic adjustment. This has offered a wide field for use of GB in industry and agriculture for various purposes.