Choline & Adenine: The B4 Story

Did you ever wonder why there is no Vitamin B4 on the list anymore? Also, is it possible that some nutrients lose their "Vitamin" title? The histories of choline and adenine—the two substances once known as Vitamin B4—show just how much our understanding of health has changed. Before I write about why these two are important for our wellbeing, I wanted to share a bit of their history. If you are not much of a history person, just scroll past this part.

Let's start with the story of choline, which is a journey from the lab to the dinner plate. It began in the 1850s when Theodore Gobley isolated a substance from brain tissue and carp eggs called "lecithin," named after the Greek word for egg yolk. By 1862, researcher Adolph Strecker successfully extracted a new nitrogenous chemical from bile, dubbing it choline. The scientific significance of this compound peaked in 1936, when Otto Loewi and Henry Dale were awarded the Nobel Prize for proving that choline is the essential backbone of acetylcholine—the neurotransmitter that allows our nerves to communicate. While research in the 1930s had already shown that choline could prevent fatty liver, it took decades of further study to fully understand its necessity. It wasn't until 1998 that it was officially classified as an "essential nutrient" for humans, recognizing that while our bodies produce some, we must obtain the rest through our diet to maintain optimal health.

Adenine’s story is even more astonishing, as it brings us from the inner workings of the human body to the far reaches of the universe. It was first identified in 1885 by Albrecht Kossel, who isolated the compound from the pancreas and named it after the Greek word for "gland," aden. In the early days of nutritional science, adenine was actually classified as Vitamin B4. However, it eventually lost its vitamin status when researchers discovered that the human body is a master at synthesizing its own supply. Since we don't strictly need to obtain it through our diet to survive, it was "demoted" from the official vitamin list. Despite losing its title, its importance cannot be overstated—adenine is one of the four fundamental bases that make up our DNA and RNA. Its significance took a cosmic turn in 2011 when NASA researchers discovered evidence of adenine on meteorites. This suggests that the essential building blocks of life might not be exclusive to Earth, but could actually be formed in outer space.

So, while they aren't called "Vitamin B4" anymore, their roles haven't changed. Choline is a powerhouse nutrient that acts as a vital multitasker for your body. While your liver can produce small amounts on its own, it usually isn't enough to keep up with your physiological needs, which is why getting it from your diet is so important. At its most basic level, choline is a master builder; it provides the essential phospholipids needed to construct the structural membranes of every single cell in your body, ensuring they remain strong and capable of sending signals to one another. In the brain, choline is the key ingredient for acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter essential for memory, mood, and muscle control. It also serves as a "traffic controller" for the liver, transporting fats so they don't get trapped and cause liver damage. Finally, its impact starts before we are even born. During pregnancy and infancy, choline is highly concentrated to support the developing brain. It actually helps "program" the brain by modifying DNA and enhancing the growth of neurons in the memory center, providing benefits for spatial memory that can last a lifetime.

The most powerful vegan sources of choline are soy products, which are far and away the richest plant-based options. Edamame, soy milk, and tofu are all excellent contributors to your daily goal. Following these are cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts; just one cup of cooked cauliflower provides about 13% of your daily needs. Legumes such as kidney beans, chickpeas, and lentils also play a vital role, especially when paired with whole grains like quinoa or wheat germ. Other reliable sources include red potatoes and shiitake mushrooms. By mixing these different categories—soy, cruciferous greens, and legumes—you can easily create a balanced, brain-healthy diet without needing to rely on animal sources.

As for adenine, it is a fundamental building block of life, serving as a primary component for the most critical molecules in our bodies. Our bodies are masters at creating it from scratch using simple amino acids and sugars. This self-sufficiency ensures that our most basic biological functions are always supported, even without specific dietary intake. At its core, adenine is a guardian of your genetic code. It acts as one of the essential "letters" in your DNA and RNA, pairing up to stabilize the double-helix structure and ensuring your body has the correct instructions to build proteins. Beyond your genes, adenine is the heart of your cellular "battery." It forms the core of ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate), the universal energy currency that every cell uses to power muscle contractions, nerve impulses, and vital chemical reactions.

That also makes me think if I should write about the Krebs Cycle in the future to show how ATP is being produced, but it is a very complex process which would take a long, complicated post to write. Anyway, let's get back to the topic.

Adenine is a key ingredient in molecules like NAD and FAD, which are indispensable for cellular respiration—the process that turns the food you eat into usable energy. It also helps create signaling molecules that act as internal messengers, telling your cells how to react to their environment. In short, while you may not need to eat adenine to survive, your body couldn't function for a second without it.

Finding adenine in a vegan diet is quite easy. Mushrooms are the standout in this category, especially varieties like shiitake and crimini, because their high cellular turnover makes them packed with nucleotides. Nutritional yeast is another excellent source of adenine. Legumes like soybeans, lentils, and chickpeas also offer substantial amounts—particularly when fermented into foods like tempeh. You can also find healthy doses in leafy greens like spinach and asparagus, as well as in the germ of whole grains and sunflower seeds.

I know this time I used a bit more scientific language, but I hope it brings interest for a deeper understanding of how our body works. So maybe we lost the name of Vitamin B4 on our list, but science certainly did remarkable work and gave us amazing knowledge to understand our bodies better and keep us healthier. I think it also shows that staying healthy as a vegan is not that hard after all, especially seeing many vegan food sources repeating themselves all the time. But it is also great for omnivores, as it shows that keeping a good amount of plant-based food sources helps them stay healthier every day. What do you think? Is the information I’m providing slowly showing that it’s not so bad or hard to be vegan? Let me know in the comments. Till we meet again! :)

P.S. I know adenine is a purine and choline is an essential nutrient, so they are not micro- or macro-elements. However, because of their previous misclassification, I am placing them in the macro–micro infographic category.