Citicoline (CDP-choline) is a compound the body makes naturally and uses to build phosphatidylcholine, a main part of cell membranes; taken as a drug or supplement it is called citicoline. It is sold in the US as a dietary supplement for memory and focus, and some countries approve it as a drug for stroke.
Also known as: CDP-choline, cytidine diphosphate choline, Cognizin.
Citicoline has no intake value. A 12-week memory trial in healthy older adults used 500 mg a day (Nakazaki, 2021); the ICTUS stroke trial gave 1,000 mg every 12 hours, by vein for 3 days and then as tablets, for 6 weeks (Dávalos, 2012). These are study protocols, not a recommendation.
It is sold in the US as a dietary supplement. Under the 1994 dietary supplement law (DSHEA), FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they are marketed, and the maker, not FDA, is responsible for safety and labeling.
In a 12-week trial in 100 healthy adults aged 50 to 85 with age-related memory complaints (Nakazaki, 2021), 500 mg a day improved episodic and overall memory scores more than placebo. A 2005 Cochrane review of 14 trials in older adults with chronic brain disorders found some evidence of benefit for memory and behavior in the short to medium term, but none for attention, and citicoline was well tolerated. In acute stroke, the large ICTUS trial (2,298 patients) was stopped early: recovery at 90 days was the same as with placebo.
We could not find a published human half-life or time to peak for citicoline that we could check against a primary source, so we do not list one.
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