text: The original betaine, N,N,N-trimethylglycine, was named after its discovery in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris) in the nineteenth century. It is a small N-trimethylated amino acid. It is a zwitterion, which cannot isomerize because there is no labile hydrogen atom attached to the nitrogen atom. This substance may be called glycine betaine to distinguish it from other betaines.