Brain health supplements become the mainstream, among them PS growth strongly

With the acceleration of population aging and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, from the level of mental disorders

such as psychological, emotional and depression in children and adolescents to neuropsychiatric diseases such as cognitive disorders and Alzheimer's disease have continued to increase, and the burden of disease has become increasingly heavy, brain health has become the focus of consumers' daily attention.

Under tremendous pressure, the supplement market for brain health is growing rapidly. According to Grand View Research market data, the brain health supplement market size was valued at US $7.68 billion in 2021, and the global brain health supplement market size is expected to reach US $15.74 billion by 2030, it is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.3% from 2022 to 2030.

PhosphatidyI serine (PS) is an important component of nerve cells in the brain, which is a popular brain health ingredient in the market at present. Globally, the market for PS is mainly concentrated in North America,Europe,Japan and other countries and regions, and it is mainly used in dietary supplements abroad. Among the top 10 ingredients with annual sales growth in the US market in 2020, PS ranked second, which was with an annual growth rate of 215%; In 2021, Nutritional OUTLOOK of dietary supplements in the United States revealed that PS is currently enjoying a strong growth among functional ingredients for cognitive health, with a sales increase of 90.4% in 2021.So why is there such a strong growth trend of PS, what are the advantages of PS ingredients, and what are the new directions in the application of PS?

The scientific nature of PS

PS is a kind of natural phospholipid, abundant in brain nerve cells, it is an important component of cell membrane, known as the "brain nutrient". Due to its strong lipophilicity,PS can quickly pass through the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain after absorption, and play a soothing effect of vascular smooth muscle, which is conducive to brain health. As one of the few big imagination fillers, PS has been shown to be safe and effective for people of all ages, from children to the elderly. It has shown potential in many areas, including stress and memory-related problems,attention disorders, and age-related cognitive decline.Scientific studies have proven that PS enhances brain health and function mainly through the following ways:

1. Increase brain cell mobility, enabling cells to remain adaptive and effectively cope with stressors.

2. Increases the levels of important brain chemicals and promotes the release of four major neurotransmitters: serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine and acetylcholine.

3. Reduce the effects of physical and mental stress by lowering cortisol levels.

4. PS can consolidate the function of other brain dietary supplements.

So, what is “PS+”? Simply put, it is the synergy effect, which is the effect of 1+1>2. Generally various nutrients has its own unique nutritional functions, the combination of them after a certain proportion and interact with each other, making the total effect is superior to the single effect, therefore enhances the absorption of original nutrients and their function performance to achieve the synergy of 1 + 1 > 2, such a composition of nutritional value is often greater than that of used alone. According to the survey, the common“PS+” products on the market at present include “PS+DHA”, “PS+ Ginkgo biloba”, “PS+ L-theanine”, etc.

Cognitive improvement is the mainstream application direction of PS

In 2021, due to the increasing awareness of mental health, the memory enhancement category accounted for the largest revenue share of approximately 30% in the brain health supplement market. The aging population is driving the expansion of the brain health supplement market. According to the World Health Organization, the proportion of the world's population over the age of 60 will almost double from 12 percent to 22 percent between 2015 and 2050.Older people are more likely to suffer from neurological diseases, including Alzheimer's, migraines, Parkinson's and insomnia. According to the International Report of Alzheimer's Disease, 55 million people worldwide were living with dementia in 2020.In addition, this number is expected to reach 78 million and 139 million by 2030 and 2050, respectively.

As getting older, PS and other important chemicals that affect brain function decrease. Such chemical changes lead to a decrease in enzyme activity and transport energy in normaI cell membranes, as well as a decrease in neural nodes - synapses - leading to a decline in memory and cognition. PS supplementation can increase the number of brain synapses, enhance the fluidity of the brain cell membrane, and help the metabolism of glucose in the brain cells, thus making the brain cells more active. In addition, PS can delay the process of neurotransmitter reduction, which helps to repair and renew damaged brain cells and reduce harmful substances.

PS is approved by the US FDA for health claims to improve cognition. In the PS supplements in Europe and the United States, the health claims of PS are mostly

related to the brain, cognition, memory, attention and so on. For example, the US NOW®PS capsule contains PS 100mg per capsule, which supports memory and brain function and improves cognition. Pure PS100 capsule, containing 100mg of soy PS per capsule, supports cognitive function, emotional health and behavioral performance. In application, PS can be used as a single efficacy component alone, and often mixed with other functional ingredients, such as“PS+ choline”，“PS+ coffee cherry + vitamin”, etc., to achieve better health efficacy.

Stress and emotion become the new consumer demand

According to Xinli001 Health Industry Annual Report 2021, although the epidemic has been basically controlled in China, the impact of the epidemic is far from over, with cases of depression and anxiety disorders increasing by 28% and 26% worldwide, respectively.

The categories of depression and mood are expected to develop at a high rate. Depression can afflict people of any age, including the young, but older people are most likely to develop it. People' s increasing stress and anxiety levels, rising rates of depression and growing understanding of how to prevent depression are driving the market for depression soothing and mood enhancing supplements.

Multiple studies have shown that PS can reduce the effects of stress on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, significantly reduce the levels of excessive stress hormones in people with work strain, and help to cope with anxiety and depression by reducing cortisol levels in response to emotional or physiological stress.

In foreign emotional health supplements, PS, as one of the main efficacy components, is often mixed with other emotional health raw materials, such as PS+ South African solanum solanum, L-theanine, rhodiola extract, etc., with multiple raw materials, the efficacy is more significant. For example, Procera Advanced Brain supplement, including PS, ginkgo biloba extract, rhodiola, South African solanum, etc, a complete three-in-one supplement to support memory, energy and mental health; Mind Lab Pro Brain  dietary supplement, support learning, attention, emotional health, with free gluten allergen, containing PS, L-theanine, rhodiola and other active substances.

With consumer's emphasis on brain health, PS also ushered in the rapid development opportunities in China. Since September 2010, PS was approved as a new food raw material. In recent years, many head food and health food enterprises began to pay attention to PS, and successively launched PS products to help with memory improvement. Infinitus’YIQINGSONG Pressed Candy, which add three core raw materials: PS,DHA algal oil, walnut enzymatic hydrolysis, to replenish brain power, stimulate inspiration; The “PS+DHA” compound nutritional powder of Wondersun, specially added PS (added amount:10%)  and DHA algal oil powder (added amount:10%), retiny| acetate, taurine and other effective ingredients, helps to replenish brain power, and protect family health. In addition, according to the milk powder survey, using "puzzle class" as the entry point, in addition to the traditional DHA, ARA track on the market of children's milk powder, many enterprises realize main differentiation characteristics of nutrition through the addition of PS, mainly aimed at the development of puzzle products on children's brain development in the golden period.

L&P Food Ingredient Co., Ltd  is based on nearly 40 years of ingenious research in the food chemical industry, which owns PS independent patent technology, produces PS at a larger scale, and its products are with a variety of specifications. As one of the large-scale production enterprises within the industry, L&P can provide customers with rich product solutions with the deep understanding and research of the domestic market for many years, thus become a reliable long-term business partner.