Choline is an organic compound, classified as a water-soluble essential nutrient.

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Choline is well established that supplements of methyl group transfer vitamins B6, B12, folic acid reduce the blood titer of homocysteine and prevent heart disease. Choline is a necessary source of methyl groups for methyl group transfer. Supplements of lecithin/choline by Central Soya scientists reduced heart disease in laboratory studies. The reduction in heart disease with lecithin supplements may however relate more to the cholesterol carrying capacity of lecithin than to the methyl group transfer role of choline. Choline supplements are often taken as a form of 'smart drug' or nootropic, due to the role that the neurotransmitter acetylcholine plays in various cognition systems within the brain. Choline is a chemical precursor or "building block" needed to produce the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, and research suggests that memory, intelligence and mood are mediated at least in part by acetylcholine metabolism in the brain. The compound's quaternary amine renders its lipid insoluble which might suggest it would be unable to cross the blood-brain barrier. However, despite choline's lipid insolubility, a choline transporter exists that allows transport across the blood-brain barrier. The efficacy of these supplements in enhancing cognitive abilities is a topic of continuing debate.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that infant formula not made from cow's milk be supplemented with choline. Due to its role in lipid metabolism, choline has also found its way into nutritional supplements which claim to reduce body fat; but there is little or no evidence to prove that it has any effect on reducing excess body fat or that taking high amounts of choline will increase the rate at which fat is metabolised. When choline is metabolized by the body, it may form trimethylamine, a compound with a fishy odor. Hence, when large amounts of choline are taken the person may suffer from a fishy body odor.

Choline is a precursor to trimethylamine, which some persons are not able to break down due to a genetic disorder. Persons suffering from this disorder, called trimethylaminuria, may suffer from a strong fishy or otherwise unpleasant body odor due to the body's release of odorous trimethylamine. A body odor will occur even on a normal diet - i.e., one that is not particularly high in choline. Persons with trimethylaminuria are advised to restrict the intake of foods high in choline; this may help to reduce the sufferer's body odor.