Phosphatidylserine for Enhanced Memory Formation
Memory gains with phosphatidylserine appear real but small, and largely restricted to older adults with existing complaints.
Overview
Verdict
How It Works
Dosing & Protocol
Typical dose
- Recommended dose
- 100 mg three times daily (300 mg/day) with meals
- Expected timeframe
- 12-24 weeks
Protocol
- form
- Soy or sunflower-derived phosphatidylserine. The strongest memory findings came from bovine cortex-derived material that is no longer available following BSE concerns; plant-derived versions have weaker and less consistent evidence
- duration
- 12-24 weeks
- co factor
- Take with meals containing fat. Evidence is mixed. The best-known result is a randomised trial by Crook and colleagues in which bovine-derived phosphatidylserine at 300 mg/day for 12 weeks improved memory measures in older adults with age-associated memory impairment, with the largest gains in those most impaired at baseline. Trials with soy-derived phosphatidylserine have been inconsistent - a 2010 trial in older adults with memory complaints found no significant benefit overall but a signal in a subgroup with lower baseline performance, while others report modest improvement in memory recall. Mechanistically, phosphatidylserine is enriched in neuronal membranes and influences membrane fluidity, neurotransmitter release and second messenger signalling.
- titration
- Build to 100 mg three times daily with meals, 300 mg/day total
- starting dose
- 100 mg with breakfast
Evidence
What the studies say
Phosphatidylserine containing omega-3 fatty acids may improve memory abilities in non-demented elderly with memory complaints: a double-blind placebo-controlled trial
Vakhapova V, Cohen T, Richter Y +2 more
PS-DHA improved immediate and delayed verbal recall in the subgroup with higher baseline cognitive status; overall group differences were not significant
Effects of phosphatidylserine in age-associated memory impairment
Crook TH, Tinklenberg J, Yesavage J +3 more
Phosphatidylserine improved performance on memory tasks of daily life, with the largest gains in participants with the lowest baseline performance
Soybean-derived phosphatidylserine improves memory function of the elderly Japanese subjects with memory complaints
Kato-Kataoka A, Sakai M, Ebina R +3 more
Memory scores improved in the 100 mg group, particularly delayed verbal recall, in participants with relatively low baseline memory
Safety
Caveats
Two important caveats: the trials that built the memory reputation used bovine brain-derived phosphatidylserine, unavailable since BSE concerns, and current plant-derived products may not perform the same; and the US FDA permits only a qualified claim explicitly describing the evidence as very limited and preliminary. Memory has interventions with far better evidence - physical exercise, sleep, treating hearing loss, managing blood pressure and diabetes, reducing alcohol, and reviewing anticholinergic and sedative medications, which impair memory substantially in older adults. Progressive memory loss that affects daily function, or that others notice more than you do, needs medical assessment for reversible causes including B12 deficiency, hypothyroidism, depression and sleep apnoea, as well as for dementia. Safety of phosphatidylserine: generally well tolerated; insomnia and gastrointestinal upset are the main side effects, more likely above 300 mg/day or with evening dosing. Doses above 600 mg/day are not well studied. Theoretical additive bleeding risk with anticoagulants, antiplatelet drugs and fish oil, and theoretical interactions with donepezil and other cholinergic or anticholinergic drugs - discuss if you take these. Avoid soy-derived products in soy allergy; sunflower versions exist. Avoid in pregnancy and breastfeeding, as safety data are absent.
Less likely to help if
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