Phosphatidylserine

Uses

• Sources
• Therapeutic Dosages
• Therapeutic Uses
• What Is the Scientific Evidence for Phosphatidylserine?
• Safety Issues
• Interactions You Should Know About
• References

Phosphatidylserine, or PS for short, is a member of a class of chemical compounds known as phospholipids. PS is an essential component in all our cells; specifically, it is a major component of the cell membrane. The cell membrane is a kind of "skin" that surrounds living cells. Besides keeping cells intact, this membrane performs vital functions such as moving nutrients into cells and pumping waste products out of them. PS plays an important role in many of these functions.

Good evidence suggests that PS can help declining mental function and depression in the elderly, and it is widely used for this purpose in Italy, Scandinavia, and other parts of Europe. PS has also been marketed as a "brain booster" for people of all ages, said to sharpen memory and increase thinking ability. However, the evidence to support this use is incomplete and inconsistent.

Sources

Your body makes all the PS it needs. However, the only way to get a therapeutic dosage of PS is to take a supplement.

PS was originally manufactured from the brains of cows, and all the studies described here used this form. However, because animal brain cells can harbor viruses, that form is no longer available. Most PS today is made from soybeans or other plant sources.

There are reasons to expect that plant-source PS should function very similarly to PS made from cows' brains, and some animal studies suggest that it is indeed effective. 1-5,43-45 However, in preliminary trials, soy-based PS and cabbage-based PS failed to prove beneficial. 7,47

Therapeutic Dosages

For the purpose of improving mental function, PS is usually taken in dosages of 100 mg two to three times daily. After maximum effect is achieved, the dosage can reportedly be reduced to 100 mg daily without losing benefit. PS can be taken with or without meals.

When taking PS for sports purposes, athletes sometimes take as much as 800 mg daily.

Therapeutic Uses

Meaningful evidence from numerous double-blind studies suggests that animal-source PS is an effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease and other forms of age-related mental decline. 8-17 Vegetable-derived PS has little supporting evidence.

PS is widely marketed as a treatment for ordinary age-related memory loss as well. While there is little direct evidence that it works, in studies of severe mental decline, PS appears to have been equally effective whether the cause was Alzheimer's disease or something entirely unrelated, such as multiple small strokes. This certainly suggests that PS may have a positive impact on the brain that is not specific to any one condition. From this observation, it is not a great leap to suspect that it might be useful for much less severe problems with memory and mental function, such as those that seem to occur in nearly all of us who are older than 40. Indeed, double-blind studies have found that phosphatidylserine could improve mental function in people with age-related memory loss. 18,53 However, two studies failed to find plant-source PS effective for this condition. 7,47 PS has also been proposed for enhancing mental function in young people, but there is no direct evidence at all that any form is effective.

Animal-source PS has also shown a slight bit of promise for depression. 19,20

Recently, PS has become popular among athletes who hope it can help them build muscle more efficiently. This use is based on weak evidence that PS slows the release of cortisol following heavy exercise. 21-23 Cortisol is a hormone that causes muscle tissue to break down. For reasons that are unclear, the body produces increased levels of cortisol after heavy exercise. Strength athletes believe that this natural cortisol release works against their efforts to rapidly build muscle mass and hope that PS will help them advance more quickly. However, only two double-blind placebo-controlled studies of PS as a sports supplement have been reported, and neither one found effects on cortisol levels. 48-49 Of these small trials, one found a possible ergogenic benefit, and the other did not.

Interestingly, PS has also been advocated as an aid to recovery from heavy exercise , according to the theory that use of PS would help reduce muscle soreness. This would seem to contradict the proposed effects on cortisol, as cortisol has anti-inflammatory properties. Nonetheless, researchers performed a double-blind study to evaluate whether 750 mg daily of soy-source PS would reduce muscle soreness following downhill racing; no benefits were seen. 51

One study found preliminary evidence that a combination of soy-based PS and lecithin may moderate the body's reaction to mental stress. 50 Another study evaluated use of phosphatidylserine for reducing stress in golfers, but the benefits seen failed to reach statistical significance. 52 Participants who were given phosphatidylserine did, however, tee-off successfully at a greater rate than those given placebo.

What Is the Scientific Evidence for Phosphatidylserine?

Safety Issues

Phosphatidylserine is generally regarded as safe when used at recommended dosages. Side effects are rare, and when they do occur they usually consist of nothing much worse than mild gastrointestinal distress. 40 One study found that use of phosphatidylserine did not alter results on standard medical screening tests. 41 However, the maximum safe dosages for young children, pregnant or nursing women, or those with severe liver or kidney disease have not been established.

PS is sometimes taken with ginkgo because they both appear to enhance mental function. However, some caution might be in order: Ginkgo is a "blood thinner," and PS might be one as well. PS is known to enhance the effect of heparin, a very strong prescription blood thinner. 42 It is possible that combined use of PS and any drug or supplement that thins the blood could interfere with normal blood clotting enough to cause problems. Some medications and supplements to consider include warfarin (Coumadin), aspirin, pentoxifylline (Trental), clopidogrel (Plavix), ticlopidine (Ticlid), garlic, ginkgo, and vitamin E.

Keep in mind, too, that Alzheimer's disease and other types of severe age-related mental impairment are too serious to treat on your own with PS or any other supplement. In some cases, the symptoms of these diseases could be confused with symptoms of other serious conditions. If you suspect that you or a loved one may have a severe age-related mental impairment, see your doctor for diagnosis and treatment.

Interactions You Should Know About

If you are taking:

• Prescription blood thinners, such as warfarin (Coumadin) , heparin , aspirin , pentoxifylline (Trental) , clopidogrel (Plavix) , or ticlopidine (Ticlid) : Do not use phosphatidylserine except on a physician's advice.

• Ginkgo , garlic , or vitamin E : Taking phosphatidylserine at the same time might conceivably "thin" the blood too much.

References

• EBSCO CAM Review Board
• 201207
• 20120725