Age Related Memory Loss and Enhanced Brain Function

Purified Polyenlyphosphatidylcholine (PPC) – Enhanced functioning of the Brain is one of the most important functions of PPC.  Its role in the formation and release of acetylcholine (ACh), a vital messenger chemical used by neurons (brain cells) in the memory centers of the brain (hippocampus and septum). The choline used by brain neurons mainly comes from lecithin found in all neural cells or from dietary sources of choline, including dietary PPC.
PPC and the Aging Memory
  • There is evidence that PPC is important for brain health across the lifespan.
  • PPC is critical for the proper development of important brain areas in the fetus and infant, including the hippocampus.
  • Choline improved memory and cognitive skills in a study involving college students.
  • PPC may be especially important in advanced age because the brain of older adults takes in less choline than that of younger adults. This decrease in PPC in the brain may play a role in the development of age related memory loss and perhaps Alzheimer’s Disease.
  • Studies show that choline ingested in the form of purified PPC can improve mild memory loss associated with the aging process.
  • The most promising area of PPC’s effects on memory is in older persons experiencing increased memory difficulties, but who do not have Alzheimer’s. In this group there is evidence that memory deterioration can be slowed or moderately reversed with increased PPC intake or supplementation.

How Does Polyenlyphosphatidylcholine Affect Acetylcholine
The body requires free choline in the blood in order to manufacture acetylcholine. Blood choline levels have been shown to rise when certain foods (such as eggs and liver) and supplements (such as polyenlyphosphatidylcholine and lecithin) are consumed. When purified PhosChol is ingested, it provides free choline, and to a certain extent polyenlyphosphatidylcholine itself, to the blood that passes the blood brain barrier and becomes available for the manufacture of acetylcholine. A number of studies show that 100% purified polyenlyphosphatidylcholine is the most effective method of delivering choline to the brain.