Choline and betaine ameliorate liver lipid accumulation induced by vitamin B deficiency in rats.

We investigated the efficacy of supplementing the diet with choline or betaine in ameliorating lipid accumulation induced by vitamin B (B) deficiency in rat liver. Male Wistar rats were fed a control, B-deficient, choline-supplemented (2, 4, or 6 g choline bitartrate/kg diet) B-deficient diet or betaine-supplemented (1, 2, or 4 g betaine anhydrous/kg diet) B-deficient diet for 35 d; all diets contained 9 g L-methionine (Met)/kg diet. Choline or betaine supplementation attenuated liver lipid deposition and restored plasma lipid profiles to control levels. These treatments restored the disruptions in Met metabolism and the phosphatidylcholine (PC)/phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) ratio induced by B deficiency in liver microsomes. These results suggest that choline and betaine ameliorated liver lipid accumulation induced by B deficiency via recovery of Met metabolism and very low-density lipoprotein secretion by restoring the supply of PC derived from PE.