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. 2019 Aug 7;11(8):1823.
doi: 10.3390/nu11081823.

Choline: Exploring the Growing Science on Its Benefits for Moms and Babies

Hunter W Korsmo  1   2 , Xinyin Jiang  3   4 , Marie A Caudill  5
Affiliations

Choline: Exploring the Growing Science on Its Benefits for Moms and Babies

Hunter W Korsmo et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

The importance of ensuring adequate choline intakes during pregnancy is increasingly recognized. Choline is critical for a number of physiological processes during the prenatal period with roles in membrane biosynthesis and tissue expansion, neurotransmission and brain development, and methyl group donation and gene expression. Studies in animals and humans have shown that supplementing the maternal diet with additional choline improves several pregnancy outcomes and protects against certain neural and metabolic insults. Most pregnant women in the U.S. are not achieving choline intake recommendations of 450 mg/day and would likely benefit from boosting their choline intakes through dietary and/or supplemental approaches.

Keywords: choline; cognitive development; epigenetic programming; placenta; pregnancy outcomes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A simplified diagram of the metabolic fate of maternal dietary choline and its delivery to the developing fetus. In the liver, choline can be used to make phosphatidylcholine (PC) through the cytidine diphosphate (CDP)-choline pathway (CDP-PC), or it can be oxidized to betaine and serve as a source of methyl groups for PC synthesis via the de novo phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT) pathway (PEMT-PC). Both pathways are upregulated during the third trimester of pregnancy, but PEMT-derived PC is preferentially partitioned to the developing fetus. CM, chylomicron; MET, methionine; PE, phosphatidylethanolamine; SAM, S-adenosylmethionine; VLDL, very low-density lipoprotein.
Figure 2
Figure 2
An overview of the effects of maternal choline intake during pregnancy on physiological processes and health outcomes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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