Choline bitartrate

Choline bitartrate is a choline salt used in supplements and fortified foods, chosen for being less hygroscopic than the chloride.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Choline bitartrate by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationPermitted21 CFR 182.8250retrieved 2026-09-07
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFANot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.

What it is made from

Made by combining synthetic choline with tartaric acid recovered from winemaking.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
InChIKey
QWJSAWXRUVVRLH-LREBCSMRSA-M
PubChem
CID 6900

Every name it appears under

26 recorded names. A label may use any of them.

CAS registry number

  • 87-67-2

As it appears in regulation

  • Choline bitartrate

Other names

  • (2-Hydroxyethyl)trimethylammonium bitartrate
  • (2-Hydroxyethyl)trimethylammonium-L-(+)-tartrate salt (1:1)
  • 2-Hydroxy-N,N,N-trimethylethanaminium 2,3-dihydroxybutanedioate, (R-(R*,R*))-
  • 2-hydroxyethyl(trimethyl)ammonium;(2R,3R)-2,3,4-trihydroxy-4-oxo-butanoate
  • 2-hydroxyethyl(trimethyl)azanium;(2R,3R)-2,3,4-trihydroxy-4-oxobutanoate
  • Bitartrate, Choline
  • CHOLINE (AS BITARTRATE)
  • Choline (bitartrate) (Standard)
  • CHOLINE BITARTRATE
  • Choline bitartrate, anhydrous
  • Choline bitartrate, United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Reference Standard
  • Choline hydrogen tartrate
  • Choline tartrate
  • Choline tartrate (1:1)
  • Choline, tartrate (1:1) salt
  • HSDB 983
  • Tartaric acid, ion(1-), choline

Systematic names

  • 2-Hydroxy-N,N,N-trimethylethan-1-aminium (2R,3R)-3-carboxy-2,3-dihydroxypropanoate
  • 2-Hydroxyethanaminium,-N,N,N-trimethyl-, (R-(R*,R*))-2,3-dihydroxybutanedioate (1:1)
  • Butanedioic acid, 2,3-dihydroxy-(R-(R*,R*))-, ion(1-), 2-hydroxy-N,N,N-trimethylethanaminium
  • Ethanaminium, 2-hydroxy-N,N,N-trimethyl-, (2R,3R)-2,3-dihydroxybutanedioate (1:1)
  • Ethanaminium, 2-hydroxy-N,N,N-trimethyl-, salt with (2R,3R)-2,3-dihydroxybutanedioic acid (1:1)
  • Ethanaminium, 2-hydroxy-N,N,N-trimethyl-, salt with (R-(R*,R*))-2,3-dihydroxybutanedioic acid (1:1)
  • Ethanaminium, 2-hydroxy-N,N,N-trimethyl-, salt with (theta-(theta,theta))-2,3-dihydroxybutanedioic acid (1:1)

Hazard reference values

No reference value for this substance in the sources we hold.

Evidence and how bodies read it

Studies, and the differing conclusions regulators drew from them, are curated by hand rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.

Sources for this page

  • ecfr retrieved 2026-09-07

Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.

Machine-readable:/api/v1/additives/choline-bitartrate.json