190 NUCLEIC ACIDS AND THE NITROGENOUS BASES 



When dried at above 100; but when it is dissolved in water or 

 combined with acids it is probably represented by the formula : 



OH 



Betaine occurs in the sap of the sugar-beet, Beta vulgaris, and is 

 extracted together with the sugar, remaining in the molasses when the 

 sugar is refined. It is non-toxic and is not utilizable by animals as 

 a food, but it is stated that the creatine content of the muscles is per- 

 ceptibly increased by administration of betaine. 



Trimethyl Histidine is found in edible mushrooms. The constitu- 

 tion is: 



CH- x 



CH 



The corresponding betaine of tryptophane is Hypaphorine. Up to 

 the present these betaines have only been found in plant-tissues. 



In putrefying meat we find a betaine which unlike those described 

 above, has a powerful physiological action. This is 7-n-butyro-betaine, 

 the betaine of 7-amino-butyric acid : 



It has an action upon nerve-endings resembling that of curare and 

 when injected produces convulsions, dyspnea and paralysis. 

 Carnitine is the a-hydroxy derivative of 7-butyro-betaine : 



it is found in meat-extracts and is almost devoid of immediate physio- 

 logical actions. 



