Alpha-GPC


L-Alpha glycerylphosphorylcholine is a natural choline compound found in the brain. It is also a parasympathomimetic acetylcholine precursor which has been investigated for its potential for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.
Alpha-GPC rapidly delivers choline to the brain across the blood–brain barrier and is a biosynthetic precursor of acetylcholine. It is a non-prescription drug in most countries. The FDA determined that intake of no more than 196.2 mg/person/day is considered generally recognized as safe.

Research

An Italian multicentre clinical trial on 2,044 patients suffering from recent stroke were supplied alpha-GPC in doses of 1,000 mg/day for 28 days and 400 mg three times per day for the five ensuing months. The trial confirmed the therapeutic role of alpha-GPC on the cognitive recovery of patients based on four measurement scales, Mini Mental State Test, Crichton Rating Scale and the Global Deterioration Scale ) three of which reached statistical significance. In trials utilizing alpha-GPC in vascular dementia, alpha-GPC administration was reported to improve performance on psychometric tests and to be well tolerated.
Small scale studies focusing on the effects of alpha-GPC on physical performance have also reported that alpa-GPC supplementation can increase maximum power and velocity in specified tests and increase lower body force. In iron deficient women, alpha-GPC supplementation has also been reported to enhance non-heme iron uptake from dietary sources.

Production

Industrially, alpha-GPC is produced by the chemical or enzymatic deacylation of phosphatidylcholine enriched soya phospholipids followed by chromatographic purification. Alpha-GPC may also be derived in small amounts from highly purified soy lecithin as well from purified sunflower lecithin.