Pharmacokinetics of 14C CDP-choline

The absorption, metabolism and excretion of cytidine diphosphate choline (CDP-choline, citicoline, Somazina) were investigated in six adult healthy subjects after a single oral dose of 300 mg of the 14C-labelled compound. The compound was well tolerated by the subjects. Absorption was virtually complete with less than 1% of the dose being found in the faeces during the 5-day collection period. Two peaks were found in the plasma radioactivity time profile: the first at 1 h, and a second larger peak at 24 h post-dose. Elimination of the ingested dose occurred via respiratory CO2 and through urinary excretion; the former predominating, and both routes exhibited biphasic patterns characterized by an early phase followed by slower decline. It is postulated that in the healthy human subject CDP-choline is metabolized in the gut wall and in the liver; the products arising from the compound's extensive hepatic metabolism being subsequently available for diverse biosynthetic pathways, tissue metabolism, and excretion.