Arsenobetaine
Arsenobetaine is an organoarsenic compound that is the main source of arsenic found in fish. It is the arsenic analog of trimethylglycine, commonly known as betaine. The biochemistry and its biosynthesis are similar to those of choline and betaine.
Arsenobetaine is a common substance in marine biological systems and unlike many other organoarsenic compounds, such as arsenous acid and trimethylarsine, it is relatively non-toxic.
It has been known since 1920 that marine fish contain organoarsenic compounds, but it was not until 1977 that the chemical structure of the most predominant compound arsenobetaine was determined.Safety
Whereas the arsenous acid has an LD50 of 34.5 mg/kg, the LD50 for the arsenobetaine exceeds 10 g/kg.
