Choline | Choline bitartrate

Properties: Choline bitartrate is the simplest way to supplement choline, the direct precursor of acetylcholine – a neurotransmitter responsible for information acquisition and association. Thus, an increase in its activity caused by choline supplementation enhances cognitive abilities and supports creative problem-solving methods. The optimal level of this neurotransmitter is also crucial if you want to maintain a positive attitude to life.

Choline delivers raw material needed to build new neurons and their protective myelin sheaths. This way, its supplementation enhances creation of neuronal pathways and helps to maintain the existing ones. Therefore, it is important to include a proper amount of choline in a diet in order to preserve good memory.

Moreover, choline is a substrate for phosphatidylcholine production. Scientific studies have demonstrated that the increase of the latter is a crucial mediator for other beneficial effects of choline, such as improvement in liver functioning, enhancement of lipid metabolism, decrease of cholesterol levels, and faster muscle regeneration after training. As it turns out, this compound is also important in the prenatal development of the central nervous system. For this reason, pregnant and nursing women should also keep optimal levels of choline – obviously after consulting a licensed doctor first.

Occurrence: Choline is naturally present in the human body – specifically in the liver and in bile, which is secreted in this organ. It occurs also in food as a free molecule (choline hydrogen tartrate) and as a component of phosphatidylcholine. Among animal products, choline can be found in: egg yolk, eggs, beef and poultry liver, as well as in pork ham. It is also found in plant-based products such as: whole grain pastry, beans, potatoes, soy, oatmeals, peanuts, rice, pistachios, spinach, tomatoes, cauliflower, lettuce, and nuts.

Biochemistry: Bitartrate choline is an organic chemical compound classified as an ester. It is produced from tartaric acid and choline molecules. It does not cross the blood-brain barrier very well, while its bioavailability and absorption rate from the digestive tract are low. However, it provides the organism with a crucial substance – choline. 

From a chemical perspective, choline is an organic compound that occurs as a positively charged ion (cation). It is classified as a fourth order ammonia compound that is water-soluble. It is well absorbed in the intestines. Choline is a substrate needed to produce phospholipids – the main element of all cellular membranes. It is also a precursor of acetylcholine – an excitatory neurotransmitter. Moreover, choline can be found in lipoproteins – biomolecules responsible for the transportation of lipids. Finally, it is also the source of methyl groups necessary in many biochemical reactions occurring in the organism.

Fun fact: The name “choline” stems from the Greek word “chole” which means “bile”. This compound was isolated for the first time in 1849 by a German chemist Adolph Strecker. He extracted choline from pigs’ bile.