Choline, a quaternary ammonium compound, is similar to the B vitamins. It can be made in the liver and found in foods such as liver, muscle meats, fish, nuts, beans, peas, spinach, wheat germ, and eggs. Choline is required to make essential membrane phospholipids. It is an important source of labile methyl groups and a precursor for the biosynthesis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine which is released by nerve cells to send signals to other cells. Choline is an essential nutrient for humans when excess methionine and folate are not available in the diet. It is used to treat liver diseases, including chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis. It is also used to treat depression, memory loss, Alzheimer-type dementias, Huntington's chorea, Tourette's disease, a brain disorder called cerebellar ataxia, certain types of seizures, and a mental condition called schizophrenia. Athletes use choline for bodybuilding and delaying fatigue in endurance sports. Choline is taken by pregnant women to prevent neural tube defects in their babies and is used as a supplement in infant formulas. Other uses include preventing cancer, lowering cholesterol, and controlling asthma. Choline is often linked together with tartaric acid (also known as bitrate) in many brain vitamin supplement formulas to improve its absorption rate into the body’s nervous system and eventually into the brain. A binding of these two brain vitamins together helps to synthesize compounds that are essential for the optimal health of membranes and nerve endings found in cells in the body.
