Unlocking the Potential of l-α-Glycerylphosphorylcholine: From Metabolic Pathways to Therapeutic Applications

l-α-Glycerylphosphorylcholine (GPC), also known as choline alphoscerate or α-glycerophosphorylcholine, serves as both a pharmaceutical product and a dietary supplement. Through its metabolic pathways, GPC acts as the precursor not only of choline and acetylcholine but also of various phospholipids. Extensive preclinical and clinical evidence demonstrates that GPC effectively alleviates cognitive impairment associated with Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, cerebral ischemia, stress, and epilepsy, among other conditions. Additionally, GPC has beneficial effects on such conditions and measures as ischemic/hypoxic conditions, ionizing radiation-induced damage, exercise performance, growth hormone release, and liver damage. As well as facilitating cholinergic neurotransmission, evidence also indicates GPC, among other activities, also can promote γ-aminobutyric acid release, enhance protein kinase C activity, facilitate hippocampal neurogenesis, upregulate neurotrophic factors, and inhibit inflammation. In preclinical studies, results indicate that GPC is not genotoxic in vitro or in vivo. Extensive human studies indicate GPC causes no severe adverse effects. Possible risks of atherosclerosis and stroke await necessary validation. In this review, the GPC-related metabolic pathways, pharmacological effects, mechanisms of action, and safety evaluation are discussed with the aim of providing a comprehensive understanding of GPC.