Compound or practice · Supplement
Phosphatidylserine
A membrane phospholipid with old age-related-memory data and a cortisol-blunting angle for stressed athletes.
- Overall grade
- Grade C
- Last revised
- 2
- graded outcomes
- 0
- references listed
A structured monograph in Prometheus's bundled library. Its grades are the monograph's own reading of the evidence, not a peer-reviewed review.
2 at grade C — 2 graded rows
What is known
Each outcome with its grade (how strong the evidence is, A to D), the size of the effect where the entry records one, and how often studies agree.
- Age-related memoryEvidence grade C
Older bovine data
Smalllow
- Exercise cortisolEvidence grade C
~600 mg/day
Smallmixed
What is uncertain
Read off the same rows as above. Nothing here is added that the entry does not itself record.
- Thin evidence: Age-related memory (grade C); Exercise cortisol (grade C).
The evidence in words
What it is
Phosphatidylserine (PS) is a phospholipid concentrated in neuronal membranes. Older studies used bovine-brain PS; modern products are soy- or sunflower-derived.
How it works
PS supports membrane fluidity and neurotransmission and may blunt the cortisol response to acute stress and exercise.
What the evidence shows
Early bovine-PS studies showed memory benefits in age-related decline; plant-derived PS has weaker cognitive data. The more replicated modern finding is attenuation of exercise-induced cortisol at ~600 mg/day, of interest to over-reaching athletes.
How to use it
100 mg ×3/day for cognition; ~600 mg/day for the cortisol/stress angle.
Safety & interactions
Well tolerated; mild GI upset or insomnia occasionally.
Bottom line
Modest for memory and more interesting for blunting exercise/stress cortisol. Reasonable, not compelling.
How it is used
As the entry records it, from the studies it summarises. Not a recommendation for you — doses that suit a trial population may not suit you.
- Cognition
- 100 mg ×3/day.
- Cortisol
- ~600 mg/day.
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- Bacopa MonnieriThe nootropic that actually improves memory — but slowly, over 8–12 weeks, not on the day you take it.Evidence grade B
- Citicoline (CDP-Choline)A choline source with modest attention and memory data — the more evidence-backed of the popular cholinergics.Evidence grade C
- Phosphatidylserine for Age-related memoryEvidence grade C — Older bovine dataEvidence grade C
- Phosphatidylserine for Exercise cortisolEvidence grade C — ~600 mg/dayEvidence grade C
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.