HEALTH NEWS

Study Title:

Choline

Study Abstract

Choline has several important functions. These are as follows: 1) it is a source of the methyl groups needed to make the primary methyl donor S-adenosylmethionine, 2) it is a part of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, and 3) it is a component of the major phospholipids in membranes [phosphatidylcholine (PC) and sphingomyelin] (1). PC is a main constituent of VLDLs and is required for their secretion and the export of fat from the liver (1). Choline is also important for normal fetal development (2, 3). Betaine, formed from the oxidation of choline, is an important osmolyte in the kidney glomerulus and helps with the reabsorption of water from the kidney tubule (4). The choline moiety can be produced endogenously through the phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT) pathway, whereby PC is formed from phosphatidylethanolamine (mainly in the liver). Despite this capacity to form choline in the liver, most people need to consume choline in their diets (5), though premenopausal women need to eat less choline unless they have common genetic polymorphisms affecting estrogen-induced PEMT expression (6, 7).

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