Soy Compound May Slash Stress

Prolonged stress can induce a hyperactivation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA).  Phosphatidylserine is a lipid found abundantly in soy, that plays an essential role in brain health.  Diagnostic Assessment and Clinical Research Organization (Daacro) GmbH & Co, KG (Germany) researchers explored whether a phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylserine/ phosphatidic acid complex is effective in normalizing the stress reactions of the nervous system and hormone glands, in highly stressed men.  The researchers enrolled 75 healthy male volunteers who were stratified by chronic stress level, and randomly allocated to one of three study arms (placebo, phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylserine/ phosphatidic acid complex 200 and phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylserine/ phosphatidic acid complex 400 per day, respectively). Study supplementation was administered for 42 days for each participant. Chronic stress was measured with a standardized assessment scale.  A six week period of supplementation was followed by an acute stress test (Trier Social Stress Test ). Whereas chronic stress levels and other baseline measures did not differ between treatment groups, acute stress was successfully induced by the acute stress test and resulted in a hyper-responsivity of the HPAA in chronically stressed subjects.  The study authors observed that phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylserine/ phosphatidic acid complex 400 per day was “effective in normalizing the ACTH, salivary and serum cortisol responses to the [acute stress test ] in chronically high but not in low stressed subjects.”