Choline-donor form with the deepest human trial base of the cognitive choline sources.
One of the better-evidenced nootropic choline sources. Branded Cognizin® is the material most trials actually used.
Citicoline (Cytidine 5'-diphosphocholine (CDP-choline)) is a cognitive with evidence grade B, meaning it is supported by human RCTs. We track 1 products containing Citicoline. Typical doses range from 250 to 250 mg per serving. The top-ranked product scores 7.7 out of 10 on our composite scale (dose, evidence, price, testing, transparency). Prices range up to $29.99 per month.
| Product | Brand | Dose | Price/mo | 3rd-party tested | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cognizin Citicoline Capsules | Nootropics Depot | 250 mg | $29.99 | Yes | 7.7 |
Scores are editorial judgments, not a scientific standard. See how we score.
A choline compound your body converts into two building blocks, cytidine and choline, that get reassembled into phosphatidylcholine for brain cell membranes and into acetylcholine for signalling.
Decades of trials in stroke recovery and vascular cognitive impairment show measurable benefit; healthy-adult attention and memory data is thinner but consistent in direction at typical doses.
One of the better-evidenced nootropic choline sources. Branded Cognizin® is the material most trials actually used.
CDP-choline; hydrolysed in the gut to choline and cytidine, resynthesised as CDP-choline intracellularly (Kennedy pathway) to support phosphatidylcholine and acetylcholine synthesis.
Cotroneo et al. 2013 and Secades' pooled stroke-recovery data show functional benefit; Cognizin-branded trials in healthy adults report modest attention and impulsivity improvements at 250 to 500mg/day.
Multi-hour; largely recycled into membrane and neurotransmitter pools.
Some people report mild headache or GI upset at higher doses; separate from choline bitartrate, which is a different (cheaper, less-studied for cognition) choline source.
The trial dose above is our editorial pick from the published human trials for this ingredient. We choose the dose that the best-available studies used on the endpoint most relevant to longevity. The range shows the lowest and highest doses tested in published trials. The landmark studies below are the papers we read to set it. You can click through and check our work.
When new trials publish, our automated sweeps flag them. If a new study materially changes the dose, we update it through editorial review and record the old dose, new dose, and the triggering study in every affected product's recommendation history. The dose is never changed automatically.
Regulatory events, evidence grade changes, and key research milestones for Citicoline, most recent first. Studies link to the paper; regulatory entries name and link the responsible authority.
Verified 2026-06-21. We update this section as new peer-reviewed trials land.
Citicoline has the most robust clinical trial history among common nootropics. The Cochrane review by Fioravanti and Yanagi pooling 14 RCTs and 884 patients with cognitive impairment from chronic cerebral disorders or stroke found citicoline improved memory and behavior versus placebo (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15846601/). In healthy older adults with mild memory complaints, Nakazaki et al.'s 2021 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 100 participants found 500 mg/day of citicoline for 12 weeks significantly improved episodic memory scores versus placebo, with the effect more pronounced in women (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7257735/).
Citicoline is marketed as a reliable memory booster for healthy adults, but the European Food Safety Authority's 2024 scientific opinion reviewed the human evidence and rejected a formal memory health claim. Of three relevant healthy-population studies, only one (500 mg/day for 12 weeks) showed a benefit on episodic memory; a second study at 1 g/day for 3 months found no such effect, and data from dementia patients at 1 g/day for 12 weeks to 12 months did not support the claim either, leading EFSA to conclude no cause-and-effect relationship was established (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38966137/). A 2025 network meta-analysis in stroke patients similarly found no single citicoline dose was clearly best across mortality, neurological recovery, and daily-living outcomes, undercutting simple 'more is better' dosing claims (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12006040/).
250-1000 mg/day, with 500 mg/day the most studied dose in healthy older adults
Citicoline has a well-established safety profile across decades of clinical use in stroke and cognitive impairment, with the Cochrane review finding it as well tolerated as placebo (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15846601/). Mild gastrointestinal upset, headache, or insomnia have been reported infrequently. A 2025 network meta-analysis found adverse-effect rates varied by dose, with 500 mg and 2,000 mg doses showing somewhat higher adverse-effect rates than 1,000 mg in stroke patients, though the authors called this finding uncertain given limited original studies (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12006040/). People taking levodopa for Parkinson's disease should be aware citicoline may enhance levodopa's effects, requiring dose monitoring by a physician (https://www.drugs.com/drug-interactions/citicoline-with-levodopa-3325-0-1456-0.html).
Completed 800-patient randomized trial compared 2000 mg/day versus 1000 mg/day citicoline for 12 months after acute ischemic stroke, tracking cognitive (MoCA) and disability (mRS) outcomes at 6 and 12 months.
Read study →EFSA concluded that a cause-and-effect relationship between citicoline and improved memory in middle-aged or elderly adults with subjective memory impairment has not been established, since the benefit did not replicate across all reviewed studies.
Read study →Network meta-analysis of 13 studies found 500 mg and 2,000 mg citicoline doses ranked best for neurological recovery and daily-living outcomes in stroke patients, but no single dose was superior across all outcomes including mortality and adverse effects.
Read study →Citicoline held MMSE scores stable over 9 months in mild vascular cognitive impairment while the untreated control group declined.
Read study →All products in our catalog that contain Citicoline, ranked by our overall score. Ranking is editorial, never paid.
Nootropics DepotStatus as recorded in the catalog from brand materials; not independently verified by NO1GEVITY.
Editorial score, not proof that this product works. Research-dose calculations are not dosing advice.
Molecules in the same class, plus the actives most often formulated alongside Citicoline in our catalogue.
See Citicoline in context: the mechanism it acts through, the biomarker it moves, the products that dose it, and the trials that tested it.
View Citicoline on the Longevity Map →A choline compound your body converts into two building blocks, cytidine and choline, that get reassembled into phosphatidylcholine for brain cell membranes and into acetylcholine for signalling.
The trial dose in published human studies is 250 mg per day, with a range of 250 to 1000 mg per day. Always consult a qualified clinician before starting any supplement.
Some people report mild headache or GI upset at higher doses; separate from choline bitartrate, which is a different (cheaper, less-studied for cognition) choline source.
We track 1 products containing Citicoline. The top-ranked product scores 7.7 out of 10 on our composite scale, which evaluates dose, evidence, price, third-party testing, and transparency. See the comparison table above. Scores are editorial judgments, not a scientific standard.
Citicoline has evidence grade B, meaning it is supported by human RCTs. Grade A means replicated human RCTs with hard endpoints. Grade B means human RCTs with biomarker outcomes. Grade C means mixed or small human trials. See our evidence grading methodology.
Evidence grades are reviewed when new human RCTs are published. Product counts update automatically as new products are added. Dose ranges reflect published trial data, not brand recommendations. Read how we verify.