Abstract
Betaines are a class of quaternary ammonium compounds found in marine algae that can act as osmolytes and/or affect gene expression, and therefore improve plant tolerance to stresses such as temperature extremes, drought, and salinity when applied to agricultural crops. In humans, glycine betaine acts as a methyl donor and has been shown to protect internal organs, improve vascular risk factors, and enhance sport performance. Here we describe a sensitive LC-MS-MS method for the baseline separation and quantification of four betaines found in algae, namely, glycine betaine, δ-aminovaleric acid betaine, γ-aminobutyric acid betaine, and laminine.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Temple WD, Bomke AA (1988) Effects of kelp (Macrocystis integrifolia) on soil chemical properties and crop response. Plant Soil 105:213–222
Blunden G, El Barouni MM, Gordon SM et al (1981) Extractions, purification and characterization of Dragendorff-positive compounds from some British marine algae. Bot Mar 24:451–456
Mason TG, Blunden G (1989) Quaternary ammonium and tertiary sulphonium compounds of algal origin as alleviators of osmotic stress. Bot Mar 32:313–316
Hayashi H, Alia ML et al (1997) Transformation of Arabidopsis thaliana with the codA gene for choline oxidase; accumulation of glycine betaine and enhanced tolerance to salt and cold stress. Plant J 12:133–142
Holmström KO, Somersalo S, Mandal A et al (2000) Improved tolerance to salinity and low temperature in transgenic tobacco producing glycine betaine. J Exp Bot 51:177–185
Sakamoto A, Valverde R, Alia et al (2000) Transformation of Arabidopsis with the codA gene for choline oxidase enhances freezing tolerance of plants. Plant J 22:449–453
Park E-J, Jeknić Z, Sakamoto A et al (2004) Genetic engineering of glycine betaine synthesis in tomato protects seeds, plants, and flowers from chilling damage. Plant J 40:474–487
Yang X, Wen X, Gong H et al (2007) Genetic engineering of the biosynthesis of glycine betaine enhances thermotolerance of photosystem II in tobacco plants. Planta 225:719–733
Craig SAS (2004) Betaine in human nutrition. Am J Clin Nutr 80:539–549
Hoffman JR, Ratamess NA, Kang J et al (2009) Effect of betaine supplementation on power performance and fatigue. J Int Soc Sport Nutr 6:7. doi:10.1186/1550-2783-6-7
Blunden G, Smith BE, Irons MW et al (1992) Betaines and tertiary sulphonium compounds from 62 species of marine algae. Biochem Syst Ecol 20:373–388
Tyihák E, Blunden G, Ma Y-C (1994) Quantitative estimation of betaines in commercial seaweed extracts using overpressured layer chromatography. J Appl Phycol 6:469–473
Blunden G, Rogers DJ, Barwell CJ (1984) Biologically-active compounds from British marine algae. In: Krogsgaard-Larsen P, Brogger CS, Kofod H (eds) Natural products and drug development, Alfred Benzon Symposium 20. Munksgaard, Copenhagen, pp 179–190
Müller H, Eckert H (1989) Simultaneous determination of monoethanolamine and glycine betaine in plants. J Chromatogr 479:452–458
Gorham J, Coughlan SJ, Storey R et al (1981) Estimation of quaternary ammonium and tertiary sulphonium compounds by thin-layer electrophoresis and scanning reflectance densitometry. J Chromatogr 210:550–554
Barak AJ, Tuma DJ (1979) Simplified procedure for determination of betaine in liver. Lipids 14:860–863
Bao W, Gao S, Fan Z et al (1989) Isolation and identification of betaine from beet molasses and its quantitative determination. J Shenyang Coll Pharm 6:12–15
Dupuy P (1978) Analytical recognition of chaptalization (addition of sugar to wine after fermentation). Ann Nutr Alim 32:1123–1132
Zamarreño A, Cantera RG, Garcia-Mina JM (1997) Extraction and determination of glycine betaine in liquid fertilizers. J Agric Food Chem 45:774–776
Lever M, Bason L, Leaver C et al (1992) Same-day measurement of glycinebetaine, carnitine and other betaines in biological material. Anal Biochem 205:14–21
Blunden G, Cripps AL, Gordon SM et al (1986) The characterization and quantitative estimation of betaines in commercial seaweed extracts. Bot Mar 29:155–160
Benoiton NL, Chen FMF (1976) The synthesis of amino-acid derivatives and peptides containing N,N-dimethylamino and N,N,N-trimethylamino groups. Proc 14th Eur Peptide Symp, Wépion, Belgium, p 149–152
Bessieres M-A, Gibon Y, Lefeuvre JC et al (1999) A single-step purification for glycine betaine determination in plant extracts by isocratic HPLC. J Agric Food Chem 47:3718–3722
MacKinnon SL, Hiltz D, Ugarte R et al (2010) Improved methods of analysis for betaines in Ascophyllum nodosum and its commercial seaweed extracts. J Appl Phycol 22:489–494
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media, New York
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
MacKinnon, S.L., Craft, C. (2015). Analysis of Betaines from Marine Algae Using LC-MS-MS. In: Stengel, D., Connan, S. (eds) Natural Products From Marine Algae. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1308. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2684-8_17
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2684-8_17
Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-2683-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-2684-8
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols