Phosphatidic Acid: The Next Big Thing?

One supplement that you might be seeing a lot of in products in the very near future is phosphatidic acid.

Phosphatidic acid is a phosholipid. A phospholipid is a lipid (fat) that has a phosphate group attached to it. Phospholipids are a major component of cell membranes, such as muscle cell membranes. However, phophatidic acid is one phospholipid that also works as a signaling messenger inside cells. One of the signaling proteins that phosphatidic acid appears to stimulate is mTOR, which is a critical player in muscle protein synthesis and therefore, muscle growth. And now recent research supports the notion that phosphatidic acid can promote muscle growth.

Researchers from the University of Central Florida had trained lifters follow an 8-week strength-training program.

One group of subjects consumed 750 mg of phoshpatidic acid daily. A second group of subjects consumed a placebo. Both the phosphatidic acid group and the placebo group consumed a 36-gram protein, amino acid, and carb drink within 30 minutes after workouts.

They reported in a 2012 issue of the Journal Of The International Society Of Sports Nutrition that the group receiving the phophatidic acid supplement gained about 4 pounds of muscle mass while the placebo group gained none.

The phosphatidic acid group also increased their squat strength by almost 40 pounds, while the placebo group increased their squat strength by less than 30 pounds.

Jim's take-home message:

Supplementing with phosphatidic acid appeared to increase muscle growth and strength gains during this study.  While a 4 pound increase in muscle mass and a 40 pound increase in squat strength is nothing earth shattering in 8 weeks of training, the subjects were limited in their gains by the strength-training program they were put on by the researchers. They stuck with 10-12 reps on all sets of all exercises for all eight weeks of the training program. Had they periodized the training, such as many of my training programs, the strength and muscle mass gains may have been even more dramatic with the use of phosphatidic acid.

Phosphatidic acid is so new that you will have a difficult time find it in supplement form at the moment. I haven't even had ample time yet to test it out in my own lab and gym. But once I have some data for you, I will update you on how well it works and what doses and times to take it seem to work best. Right now all we have to go off of is this one study using a 750 mg dose. If you do find a supplement that has phophatidic acid in it, make sure that it supplies 750 mg per dose and consider taking it before or immediately after training.

Reference:

Hoffman, J. R., et al. Efficacy of phosphatidic acid ingestion on lean body mass, muscle thickness and strength gains in resistance-trained men. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2012 Oct 5;9(1):47.

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