What Are The Differences Between CDP Choline & Alpha-GPC?

Written on March 1, 2023 by | Reviewed by William Gallagher, MNeuroSci

Is your diet providing enough choline to keep your brain healthy and cognitively functioning properly?

There are, unfortunately, many people who choose to use choline as a brain booster by supplementing with it as a nootropic.

Choline can be derived from a number of different compounds, but not all of them are created equal.

CDP Choline and Alpha-GPC are two supplements that provide the most benefits, and their effects can be compared to determine which choline supplement is the most beneficial.

Are CDP Choline and Alpha-GPC the Same Thing?

CDP Choline and Alpha-GPC both work to improve brain performance.

Their unique mechanisms and structures, on the other hand, mean that they are frequently chosen for opposing reasons."

Taking Citicoline causes our body to break it down into phosphatidylcholine, which aids in the production of acetylcholine.

As a precursor to uridine, the compound also contains choline and cytidine, giving it additional health benefits.

The fact that it functions as a precursor to uridine suggests that it may help slow cognitive decline by ensuring that new neurons are created and remain connected.

Thus, memory formation and brain plasticity can be enhanced while cell membrane and synaptic communication is supported. As a result, researchers believe it's a promising choline form to investigate for the treatment of memory loss and improving recall. Aside from that, it's a treatment option for Alzheimer's.

What is The Key Difference Between The Two?

The key distinction between CDP Choline and Alpha-GPC is that the former provides choline, while the latter provides a choline boost.

CDP Choline can be used as a nootropic separate from Alpha-GPC.

Alpha-GPC is intended to be taken with other nootropics in order to enhance their effects.

Therefore, CDP Choline is the more versatile of the two and can be taken as a stand-alone nootropic supplement.

Note that it cannot be used as an aid for cognitive decline or Alzheimer's. This is not to say that it doesn't function well without choline supplementation; just that Alpha-GPC provides a bigger choline boost.

That being said, both can be used to improve overall brain health and performance, but they are chosen for different reasons.

CDP Choline is chosen for its ability to increase new neuron creation while Alpha-GPC is chosen for its ability to improve existing cognitive functions.

Citicoline does not contain a significant amount of choline that can help to boost cognitive performance. It does, however, have the CDP portion, which is also known as citicoline.

Alpha GPC contains a high amount of choline in order to provide a powerful choline boost.

In fact, the Alpha GPC dosage that is needed in order to achieve a choline boost will often be too high for it to also function as a nootropic on its own.