Background Abstract A quick guide for explaining what phospholipids are, the types of phospholipids in human milk, and their role in brain development. 2 minutes PDF Download PDF Phospholipids are structural components of cell membranes in human body including brain cells1 There are 5 major phospholipids in human milk2 Phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) Found particularly in neural tissues including white matters of brain, spinal cord and nerves3 Sphingomyelin (SM) Contributes to the formation of myelin sheaths that facilitate efficient signal transmission4,5 Phosphatidylcholine (PC) The most abundant phospholipids in membrane bilayers6 Phosphatidylserine (PS) Brain PS has a high content of DHA7 Phosphatidylinositol (PI) Acts as a substrate of Phosphatidylserine (PS) synthesis7 The content of phospholipids including PC, PE, PS and SM in human brain changes with age:8 Sphingomyelin (SM) levels in the brain increase drastically from 2% to 15% postnatally, timing coincided with its role in the myelin sheath and mature membranes8 Food sources of phospholipids:9 Eggs, organ meats, lean meats, fish, shellfish, cereal grains, etc. For more nutritional information, please view https://Singapore.wyethnutritionsc.org This material is for healthcare professional reference only. Wyeth® is a registered trademark of Wyeth LLC. Used under license. Reference Martinez M and Mougan I. J Neurochem. 1998;71:2528-2533. Cilla A et al. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2016;56(11):1880-1892. Stillwell W. An introduction to biological membranes (second edition). Elsevier. 2016 [Textbook]. Kinney HC et al. Neurochemical Research. 1994;19(8):983-996. Spigel I and Peles E. Molecular Membrane Biology. 2002;19:95-101. Muller CP et al. Biochemica et Biophysica Acta. 2015;1851:1052-1065. Kim HY et al. Prog Lipid Res. 2014;0:1-18. Dawson G. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2015;1851(8):1026-1039. Weihrauch JL and Son YS. JAOCS. 1983;60(12):1971-1978. Locked On FAB action liks Share Messenger WhatsApp Copy Link Search On Register Off Save (for later) On Share it