Does phosphatidylserine benefit children with ADHD?

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    Last Updated: April 23, 2025

    Phosphatidylserine (PS) may have some mechanistic reasons for benefits in children with ADHD, but the evidence for its effectiveness is weak. A meta-analysis indicated that although PS resulted in borderline improvement in inattention, it did not significantly affect hyperactivity-impulsivity or overall ADHD symptoms, and the studies had substantial risks of bias and low quality.

    While there are some mechanistic reasons to think that phosphatidylserine (PS) might benefit children with ADHD, the evidence for its effectiveness is weak.

    PS, which is an important component of cell membranes, belongs to a class of organic compounds called phospholipids. Children with ADHD may have lower serum levels of phospholipids[1] and lower levels of phospholipids in the basal ganglia and prefrontal cortex regions of the brain.[2] Stimulant medications to treat ADHD work on some of these regions of the brain,[3] suggesting a possible connection between phospholipids and ADHD medication and thus a possible, if tenuous, mechanism by which PS supplementation could benefit ADHD.

    However, there is little evidence that PS is actually effective for childhood ADHD. A 2021 meta-analysis of 3 randomized controlled trials found that 200–300 mg/day of PS improved the subdomain of inattention, but not the subdomain of hyperactivity-impulsivity or overall ADHD symptom scores, in children with ADHD. However, each of these 3 findings were of borderline statistical significance, and two of the three PS supplements also contained omega-3 fatty acids. Furthermore, all three of the trials were ranked as having a substantial risk of bias and being of low or very low quality.[4]