Phosphatidylserine
A phospholipid, one of the fats that make up cell membranes
A fat found in the membranes of the body's cells, taken as a supplement made from soya, sunflower or fish, and studied mostly for memory and thinking skills in older adults. Here is every study in people we could find, sorted from each study's summary.
- Made from: soya, sunflower or fish
- Most tested: 300 mg a day
- Usually taken daily for weeks
From every paper to the studies that matter
Most papers on phosphatidylserine are about its role in the body's own cells, for example in blood clotting, not about taking it. Only a small share tests it as a supplement in people, and that is what this page is about.
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2,978 papers mention phosphatidylserine.Every record in PubMed, all years
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115 are about people.The rest: 1,702 lab and animal studies, 166 reviews, 995 on chemistry, farming and more
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39 give phosphatidylserine on its own.36 more test it with omega-3 fats, caffeine or other ingredients in a blend
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22 are randomised against a placebo.Randomised controlled trials In a randomised controlled trial, people are put into groups by chance, one taking the treatment and one a placebo or other comparison. Chance spreads differences such as age and health evenly, so a difference between the groups is more likely to be down to the treatment., the strongest kind of study
Bar lengths use a square-root scale so the small numbers stay visible.
How much research there is
- 39 studies giving phosphatidylserine to people
- 22 of them randomised against a placebo A placebo-controlled trial compares a real treatment with a dummy that looks the same, the placebo. People often feel better when they expect to, so comparing against a placebo shows how much of the change comes from the treatment itself.
- 1,454 people taking part, where studies say
- 8 systematic reviews A systematic review searches for every study on a question in a set, written-down way, judges the quality of each and sums up what they show together. Many include a meta-analysis. The Atlas lists these as pooled reviews. pooling the trials
Studies in people, by year published
Phosphatidylserine on its own.
What the studies looked at
Each study can measure several things. Choose a topic to see its studies in the list below.
Studies in people with a diagnosed condition are counted here and listed with their population. We describe what they measured, not what they might treat. Most studies also report safety; see below.
What was tested, and how much
Phosphatidylserine is a single compound, so milligrams compare from one study to the next, but where it came from changed over time. Where the summary names a source, studies up to the early 1990s used phosphatidylserine from cow brain, and later ones mostly used soya, with one recent study of sunflower phosphatidylserine. Results from one source may not carry over to another. Most studies gave it by mouth every day for weeks, two gave it by drip and one put it on the skin.
Daily amount, one dot per study
Studies per extract
Named extracts are the maker's brand. "Not named" means the study didn't say.
Take it in more than one product? Add up the phosphatidylserine across your stack
All studies in people
Filter the list, then open a study on PubMed. Each row comes from the study's published summary, and the source of the phosphatidylserine is shown where the summary names it.
| Study | Who took part | People | Extract and daily dose | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shen 2026RCT, active or other control | Children with ADHD | 56 | Not named | 13 weeks |
| McMillan 2026RCT, placebo | Adults with type 2 diabetes | – | Not named, 280 mg | 4 weeks |
| Friling 2025RCT, placebo | Healthy children aged 8-12 | – | Sharp PS green (sunflower), 100 mg | 12 weeks |
| Hirayama 2014RCT, placebo | Children with ADHD | 36 | Soy-derived PS, 200 mg | 9 weeks |
| Richter 2013Single-arm or open-label | Elderly with memory complaints | 30 | Soybean-derived PS, 300 mg | 12 weeks |
| Parker 2011Crossover, placebo | Resistance-trained young men | 18 | IQPLUS Focus (soy PS), 400 mg | 2 weeks |
| Kato-Kataoka 2010RCT, placebo | Elderly Japanese with memory complaints | 78 | Soy-PS, 300 mg | 26 weeks |
| Baumeister 2008RCT, placebo | Healthy adults, induced stress | 16 | Not named | 6 weeks |
| Starks 2008Crossover, placebo | Healthy young males | 10 | Not named, 600 mg | 1 weeks |
| Cho 2008Other | Young and aged human skin, topical PS | – | Not namedOn the skin | – |
| Jäger 2007RCT, placebo | Healthy young golfers | 20 | Not named, 200 mg | 6 weeks |
| Kingsley 2006RCT, placebo | Active males | 14 | Not named, 750 mg | 1 weeks |
| Kingsley 2006Crossover, placebo | Recreationally active males | 8 | Not named, 750 mg | 1 weeks |
| Kingsley 2005RCT, placebo | Male soccer players | 16 | Not named, 750 mg | 1 weeks |
| Jorissen 2001RCT, placebo | Elderly with age-associated memory impairment | 120 | Soy-PS, 600 mg | 12 weeks |
| Benton 2001Other | Healthy young adults | – | Not named, 300 mg | 4 weeks |
| Schreiber 2000Single-arm or open-label | Elderly with age-associated memory impairment | 18 | Plant-derived PS, 300 mg | 12 weeks |
| Heiss 1994RCT, active or other control | Probable Alzheimer's disease patients | 70 | Not named, 400 mg | 26 weeks |
| Cenacchi 1993RCT, placebo | Elderly with moderate-severe cognitive decline | 494 | BC-PS, 300 mg | 26 weeks |
| Heiss 1993RCT, active or other control | Probable Alzheimer's disease patients | 40 | Not named | 26 weeks |
| Crook 1992RCT, placebo | Probable Alzheimer's disease patients | 51 | BC-PS, 300 mg | 12 weeks |
| Engel 1992Crossover, placebo | Patients with mild Alzheimer-type dementia | 33 | BC-PS, 300 mg | 8 weeks |
| Monteleone 1992RCT, placebo | Healthy men | 9 | Brain cortex PS, 800 mg | 1 weeks |
| Crook 1991RCT, placebo | Adults with age-associated memory impairment | 149 | BC-PS, 300 mg | 12 weeks |
| Amaducci 1991Other | Alzheimer's disease patients | – | Not named | – |
| Masturzo 1990Non-randomised controlled | Euthyroid aged men | 20 | Not named, 400 mg | 4 weeks |
| Maggioni 1990Single-arm or open-label | Elderly women with depressive disorders | 10 | BC-PS, 300 mg | 4 weeks |
| Rosadini 1990Crossover, placebo | Healthy young male volunteers | 8 | Not named, 75 mg | – |
| Monteleone 1990Crossover, placebo | Healthy men, physical stress | 8 | BC-PS, 75 mg | – |
| Lombardi 1989Non-randomised controlled | Senile dementia syndrome outpatients | 40 | Not named | 9 weeks |
| Rupprecht 1989Other | Humans, pharmaco-EEG | – | Not named | – |
| Fünfgeld 1989RCT, placebo | Parkinsonian patients with Alzheimer-type dementia | – | BC-PS | – |
| Marcon 1988Other | Patients with cognitive and behavioural decline | – | Not named | – |
| Amaducci 1988RCT, placebo | Alzheimer's disease patients | – | Not named | – |
| Manfredi 1987Other | Climacteric and elderly women, psycho-organic disorders | 40 | Not named | – |
| Nerozzi 1987Other | Elderly with memory disorders | – | Not named | – |
| Ricevuti 1987Other | Aged patients | – | Not named | – |
| 1987Other | Alzheimer's disease patients | – | BC-PS | – |
| Delwaide 1986RCT, placebo | Hospitalised elderly with senile dementia | 42 | BC-PS, 300 mg | 6 weeks |
What's known about safety
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In trials
In a 12-week trial in 120 older adults, soya phosphatidylserine at 300 or 600 mg a day made no difference to blood tests, blood pressure, heart rate or side effects compared with placebo. Older trials of cow brain phosphatidylserine at 300 mg a day reported it was well tolerated.
Jorissen 2002, placebo-controlled safety trial in 120 people; earlier cow brain trials as summarised there
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In the UK
Phosphatidylserine made from fish and from soya are authorised novel foods in Great Britain. Fish phosphatidylserine may be used in food supplements at up to 300 mg a day. The register lists soya phosphatidylserine for some foods but not for supplements, and we found no entry for sunflower phosphatidylserine.
FSA register of authorised novel foods (from EU Regulation 2017/2470), checked Oct 2026
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Check first
A case report describes a 7-year-old with ADHD who became agitated and had suicidal thoughts after phosphatidylserine and citicoline were added to methylphenidate. Soya phosphatidylserine came to be preferred over cow brain because of a possible risk of prion infection from brain tissue. It hasn't been studied in pregnancy or breastfeeding, so speak to a pharmacist or doctor first if either applies or you take regular medicines.
Subasi Turgut 2025, case report; Kingsley 2006, review; no pregnancy trials found, Oct 2026
Where these studies come from
We list every published study of phosphatidylserine in people. We count phosphatidylserine from soya, sunflower and fish, and the cow brain phosphatidylserine of older studies. Phosphatidylserine joined to DHA or other omega-3 fats, or given with other active ingredients, counts as a blend. This first version is built from each study's summary; full-paper checks come next.
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We search
PubMed, the world's main library of medical research, for every paper on L-theanine.
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We keep studies in people
Lab and animal work is counted but left out of the list, because it doesn't tell you what happens in people.
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We note the basics
Who took part, how many, how much and for how long, from each study's published summary. A second check corrects what the first read gets wrong.
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We read them in full
Results appear once we've read the whole paper and checked every number. The date at the top shows when this entry was last updated.
Download the study list
Every study in people as a spreadsheet, 39 rows, free to reuse with a link back.
Versions
Each update to the data gets a new version number, so you can tell what changed and when.
See every version
1.0 · 24 Oct 2026. First release. Every published study giving phosphatidylserine on its own to people is listed from its summary. None is read in full yet.
