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Choline is needed for synthesis of the phospholipids in cell membranes, methyl metabolism, cholinergic neurotransmission, transmembrane signaling, and lipid-cholesterol transport and metabolism. 1 Choline can be acetylated, phosphorylated, oxidized, or hydrolyzed. There are several comprehensive reviews of the metabolism and functions of choline. 1–3 There is no doubt that cells absolutely require choline, 4 and die by apoptosis when deprived of this nutrient. 5–7 The debate as to whether the human diet must contain choline arises because there is a pathway (most active in the liver) for the de novo biosynthesis of the choline moiety via the sequential methylation of phosphatidylethanolamine using S-adenosylmethionine as the methyl donor. 8 This ability to form choline moiety de novo means that some of the demand for choline can, in part, be met by using methylgroups derived from one-carbon …