Measurement of the total choline content in 48 commercial dairy products or dairy alternatives

In this work, the total choline and choline-containing moieties (free choline, glycerophosphocholine, phosphocholine, phosphatidylcholine, lysophosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin) of 48 dairy products or dairy alternatives available in Canada were determined by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). The average total choline content for one serving of fluid milk and alternative (i.e. 250 mL as defined by Canada's Food Guide) was 32.9 ± 2.4 mg for cow's milk, 24.9 ± 0.1 mg for goat's milk and 31.2 ± 4.2 mg for soy beverage. The average total choline content for one serving of yogurt (175 g) was 25.6 ± 3.2 mg. One serving of cheese (50 g) provided 7.1 ± 1.1 mg of total choline on average. Our data show that for dairy products there is a negative correlation between the total choline content on a dry weight basis and the fat content (r = −0.734, P < 0.001). Overall, we determined the choline content of a variety of dairy products which can supplement the data in the existing United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) choline database and be used in accurately estimating dietary choline intake in epidemiological studies. Hence, dairy products are a good source of choline with low fat products generally being a better source of choline than high fat dairy products.