Choline

Choline Bitartrate · Citicoline · CDP-Choline

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Prenatal neurodevelopment¹ Memory after prenatal alcohol² Acute ischemic stroke³ Dementia symptoms⁴ Mild cognitive impairment⁵ Schizophrenia augmentation⁶ Choline-deficiency liver fat⁷ Parenteral nutrition steatosis⁷	Soy allergy⁸ Heart disease or hypertension⁸ Low blood pressure⁸

Choline is an essential nutrient that supplies methyl groups and builds membrane phospholipids and the neurotransmitter acetylcholine⁷. Supplementation follows from that role: closing dietary gaps in pregnancy for fetal brain development, and supporting cognition in dementia and liver fat handling⁷. Citicoline is also used after ischemic stroke and in glaucoma. Most pregnant women fall short of the adequate intake⁷.

Prenatal evidence is unsettled: a systematic review found current data insufficient to support or refute neurodevelopmental benefit⁹. In animal models of glaucoma, a 2025 study found vitamins B6, B9, B12, and choline together protected retinal ganglion cells; no human trial has reported. Products list choline bitartrate, phosphatidylcholine, or lecithin⁷, alongside citicoline, in capsules, softgels, and liquids; see Form comparison.

High intakes cause hypotension, fishy body odor, and liver toxicity⁷, and circulating choline and phosphatidylcholine track with heart failure incidence in cohort data. Per product labels, a minority advise a doctor's input before use with blood pressure or heart medications⁸.

Last updated October 16, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

92 sources, 70 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources