Effects of 2‐dimethylaminoethanol (Deanol) on the Metabolism of Choline in Plasma

The effects of chronic oral administration of 30 mM‐dimethylaminoethanol (DMAC) on the concentrations and turnover of putative acetylcholine precursors in the plasma and the CSF have been investigated. Choline (Ch) and its labelled variants were measured by gas chromatography‐mass fragmentography and lecithin, lysolecithin and sphingomyelin by spectrophotometric methods following separation by thin layer chromatography. No effects of DMAE on the phospholipids in the plasma of rabbits were found. The concentrations of Ch in the plasma of humans and rabbits and in the CSF of rabbits increased during the DMAE treatment. In the mouse labelled with deuterium Ch from the diet, DMAE increased the dilution of deuterium Ch in the plasma. Ch given by mouth to rabbits in the same dose as DMAE had no effects on plasma Ch. Intravenous infusion of 0.15 M‐Ch at a rate of 5 μM·kg−1·min−1 for 60 min increased the concentrations of Ch in the CSF as well as in the plasma. It is concluded that DMAE increases plasma Ch by enhancing the formation of endogenous Ch, perhaps through the base exchange reaction. Whether or not DMAE also increases the availability of Ch directly in the brain cannot be decided.