Citicoline

Category: nootropic

Aliases: cdp-choline

Pharmacological Mechanism

Cytidine and choline donor; supports phosphatidylcholine synthesis.

Half-Life (t½)

PO: 56h

Dosing Guidelines

• PO: Typical 500 (Range: 250–1000)

Target Organ Systems

• digestive

Notes

Hydrolyzed in gut to cytidine + choline before absorption.

Pathways It Modulates

• Acetylcholine synthesis + degradation (substrate) — choline donor (upstream)
• Glycerophospholipid metabolism (substrate) — CDP-choline step (Kennedy pathway)

Chemical Identifiers

• PubChem CID: 13804
• Formula: C14H26N4O11P2
• Molecular weight: 488.32 g/mol
• InChIKey: RZZPDXZPRHQOCG-OJAKKHQRSA-N
• SMILES: C[N+](C)(C)CCOP(=O)([O-])OP(=O)(O)OC[C@@H]1[C@H]([C@H]([C@@H](O1)N2C=CC(=NC2=O)N)O)O

References

• PMID 6412727