title: 2-Aza-niumyl-4-(ethyl-carbamo-yl)butano-ate: the zwitterionic form of the amino acid theanine.
abstract: In the title zwitterion, C(7)H(14)N(2)O(3), the ethyl-amino and the 5-oxo groups are positionally disordered with occupancy ratios of 0.50:0.50 and 0.70:0.30, respectively. The terminal ethyl -CH(3) group undergoes considerable thermal motion. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked via N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming a two-dimensional arrangement propagating in the bc plane.
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, ShanDong University of Technology, ZiBo 255049, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shou-Kai
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Yue-Hu
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Shao-Song
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hu