drtbear1967
Musclechemistry Board Certified Member
Phosphatidylserine(PS) is a phospholipid made up of 2 long chain fatty acids and the amino acid phosphorylated serine and is naturally produced in the body. Phospholipids are a main component of all cell membranes, as they form the lipid bilayer which is basically the bouncer for your cells and determines if molecules can enter based on polarity. The 2 long fatty acids(in yellow) are nonpolar, meaning fat soluble, while the phopho part is polar(water soluble). PS is known for increasing cognition and decreasing cortisol and has good data for both. In one study, 400mg of PS was shown to increase speed of calculations by 20% and increase accuracy of answers(13% more right, 39% less wrong). There's also a few studies showing increased memory and deceased cognitive decline in elderly and subjects with Alzheimer's and dementia. In a study testing exercise-induced cortisol, PS was able to significantly blunted without affecting increases in GH. Basically PS can counteract exercise-induced activation of your hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis(HPA), so just less cortisol is produced. The dose was 800mg a day for 10 days. Another study showed the same results with 72 subjects. PS can be derived from soy lecithin or bovine cortex(apparently not anymore since cases of mad cow disease). It's worth noting that there were a few studies showing that PS from soy did not show a decrease in cortisol or affect HPA. PS can also be stacked with other nootropic compounds for an increased effects, as well as almost any other sports nutritional supplement for muscle building.
