Low dose betaine supplementation leads to immediate and long term lowering of plasma homocysteine in healthy men and women

Olthof MR, van Vliet T, Boelsma E, Verhoef P · The Journal of Nutrition

The dose-response study that covers the range people actually swallow: after 6 weeks, fasting plasma homocysteine was 12% lower at 1.5 g/day, 15% lower at 3 g/day and 20% lower at 6 g/day than placebo, with the post-methionine-load rise blunted by 23%, 30% and 40% respectively.

Population

Four groups of 19 healthy adults, 6 weeks

Intervention

Betaine 1.5, 3 or 6 g/day

Comparator

Placebo

Limitations

19 participants per arm; healthy volunteers with normal homocysteine; a biochemical surrogate, with no clinical or connective-tissue endpoint measured.