A method for the determination of betaine in tissues using high performance liquid chromatography.

Betaine is a major metabolite of choline in liver and kidney and may be an important product of choline metabolism in other tissues. The available methods for assay of betaine, however, are time consuming and relatively insensitive. We describe a modification of published methods that provides a sensitive and specific assay for betaine by derivatization and HPLC separation with UV quantitation.