Benefits
Muscle strength when combined with regular exercise
In 14 Japanese adults aged 31 to 48, 1 g/day of MFGM tablets with twice-weekly training raised leg strength more than placebo over 4 weeks. In 98 young adults, an MFGM powder with power training improved knee strength and leg press but not lean mass or agility. In frail women over 75, adding MFGM to exercise gave no clear extra benefit. The two positive trials were company-funded, and Kao staff co-authored all three.
Balance and physical performance in adults over 50
In 113 adults aged 50 to 70 with no set exercise, 24 weeks of MFGM tablets did not change strength or agility, but one-leg standing time with eyes closed was longer than on placebo (about 10 versus 7.5 seconds). In 101 women aged 70 and over, a daily snack with MFGM and at least 23 g of milk protein missed its main chair-stand outcome but raised an overall performance score, mostly balance. The extra protein makes the MFGM share unclear.
Total and LDL cholesterol
A meta-analysis of randomized trials in healthy adults found that 2 to 16 weeks of MFGM or milk polar lipids lowered total cholesterol by about 0.18 mmol/L and LDL by about 0.12 mmol/L versus matched dairy controls, rated moderate certainty. HDL, triglycerides, glucose and blood pressure showed no clear change. In one 8-week trial, MFGM-rich whipping cream did not raise LDL, while the same amount of butter oil did.
Stress and anxiety scores in adults
In 54 young men with high perfectionism, 2.7 g/day of milk phospholipids for 6 weeks did not blunt the cortisol response to a lab stress test, though reaction time on an attention task after the stressor improved. A meta-analysis of 3 trials by staff of an MFGM maker found small drops in stress and anxiety scores that only just reached significance and no clear change in depression. It remains limited evidence.
Skin hydration and elasticity
In 96 adults aged 20 to 39 with dry skin, a sphingomyelin-rich milk phospholipid concentrate (5 or 10 mg/day of sphingomyelin) for 12 weeks raised heel skin hydration at the lower dose and under-eye elasticity at one time point at the higher dose versus placebo, and improved self-rated facial moisture. It is a single trial run by the ingredient's maker, with results scattered across doses and time points.
Memory and alertness in older adults
In 263 adults aged 55 to 75 with memory complaints, 16 weeks of MFGM-fortified milk powder (1.7 or 4.0 g/day of phospholipids) did not improve the main memory and thinking test battery versus a starch control. Alertness held up better within the high-dose group, but not versus control. In an earlier study of stressed men, better memory after a stress test was seen only in an exploratory look at the older men on the higher dose.
Digestive comfort during a controlled E. coli challenge
In 58 healthy adults, 10 g twice daily of Lacprodan PL-20, a milk protein concentrate rich in MFGM, was taken for 2 weeks before a deliberate dose of a weakened diarrhea-causing E. coli strain. Versus a casein control, it led to fewer extra stools and gut complaints (secondary outcomes) but did not change E. coli shedding, a primary outcome. Staff of the ingredient's maker co-authored the study.
Mechanism of action
Nerve-to-muscle signaling during training
In mouse studies, MFGM combined with exercise improved muscle strength along with signs of nerve-muscle development. In two small human trials, surface electromyography showed higher motor unit activity, or faster muscle fiber conduction velocity, with MFGM plus exercise than with placebo, which may help explain strength gains without more lean mass.
Effects on blood lipids through an unclear route
In the whipping cream trial, plasma markers of cholesterol absorption and of liver cholesterol production did not differ between groups, yet 19 genes in blood immune cells were expressed differently and tracked the lipid changes. How MFGM-rich fat avoids raising LDL compared with other milk fat is still not settled.
Stress hormone rhythm
Phospholipids are thought to dampen activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal stress axis. In one trial, milk phospholipid drinks changed the shape of the morning cortisol curve, but neither that trial nor a later one found a smaller cortisol response to an acute lab stressor.
Sphingomyelin for skin lipids
Sphingomyelin is a phospholipid important to skin, and in milk it sits mainly in the fat globule membrane. The skin trial tested whether eating it improves skin condition; how much ingested sphingomyelin reaches the skin was not measured.
Clinical trials
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of a Fonterra MFGM powder (SureStart MFGM Lipid 70, 1.7 g fat and 160 mg sphingomyelin daily) versus a whey isolate and maltodextrin placebo during 4 weeks of power training, funded by Meiji (Nakayama et al. 2025, J Int Soc Sports Nutr).
98 healthy adults aged 20 to 49 who completed the intervention, training 3 times a week.
Compared with placebo, MFGM improved peak knee extension torque, average power, leg press 1-repetition maximum and sit-ups. Agility did not differ, and lean body mass did not change in either group. Three authors are employees of the funder.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with 4 arms (exercise plus MFGM, exercise plus placebo, MFGM alone, placebo alone) for 3 months, with 1 g/day of MFGM pills supplied by Kao and 4 months of follow-up (Kim et al. 2015, PLoS One).
131 frail community-dwelling Japanese women over 75; exercise groups trained 60 minutes twice a week.
Frailty reversal right after the program was higher with exercise plus MFGM (57.6%) than with MFGM alone (28.1%) or placebo (30.3%), and walking speed and timed up and go improved. Low muscle strength did not change. The authors could not confirm that MFGM added a significant effect on top of exercise.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of MFGM tablets prepared by Kao, with no mandatory exercise, testing strength, agility and balance every 6 weeks (Kokai et al. 2018, J Nutr Sci).
113 community-dwelling Japanese adults aged 50 to 70 analyzed by intention to treat.
MFGM did not significantly change muscle strength or agility. One-leg standing time with eyes closed was longer with MFGM (mean 10.1 seconds) than with placebo (7.53 seconds, P = 0.046). No adverse effects were reported. Kao funded the work, and Kao employees were among the authors.
Multicenter randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of skim milk powder fortified with Fonterra MFGM Phospholipid 100 at 1.7 or 4.0 g/day of phospholipids versus a rice starch control, sponsored by Fonterra (Zajac et al. 2025, Am J Clin Nutr).
263 adults aged 55 to 75 with subjective memory complaints in Australia.
There was no treatment effect on the primary cognitive battery (RBANS) or on the secondary computerized tests. Alertness during testing held up better within the high-dose group, but mood ratings did not differ significantly from control. Total cholesterol fell versus control, and LDL fell from baseline in both MFGM groups. No serious adverse events related to the product were reported.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel trial of a drink with 2.7 g/day of bovine milk phospholipids for 6 weeks, with Arla staff among the authors (Boyle et al. 2019, Nutrition).
54 high-perfectionist men, tested before and after with a working memory task, an attention task and an acute psychosocial stressor.
Reaction time on an attention-switching task after the stressor improved with phospholipids. The salivary cortisol response was not reduced, and the drop in anticipatory stress ratings was not significant (P = 0.06). Systolic and diastolic blood pressure were higher in the phospholipid group.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of a sphingomyelin-containing milk phospholipid concentrate at 5 or 10 mg/day of sphingomyelin versus an olive oil and beeswax placebo, run by Megmilk Snow Brand researchers (Higurashi et al. 2015, J Dairy Sci).
96 healthy adults aged 20 to 39 with low skin hydration.
Heel skin hydration rose at weeks 9 and 12 on the low dose versus placebo, and under-eye elasticity rose at week 9 on the high dose. Self-rated facial moisture and eye wrinkles improved on the high dose. Effects were not consistent across both doses or all time points.
Single-blind, randomized, isocaloric parallel trial in which participants ate 40 g/day of milk fat as whipping cream (rich in MFGM) or as butter oil (Rosqvist et al. 2015, Am J Clin Nutr).
57 overweight men and women randomized; other dairy foods were discouraged.
Butter oil raised total cholesterol (+0.30 mmol/L) and LDL (+0.36 mmol/L), while whipping cream did not (-0.04 and +0.04 mmol/L). HDL, triglycerides and markers of cholesterol absorption did not differ. This tested a whole food, not an MFGM supplement, and shows MFGM-enclosed fat avoided an LDL rise rather than lowering LDL.
Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind 4-week trial of 10 g twice daily of Lacprodan PL-20, a milk protein concentrate rich in MFGM, versus sodium caseinate, with a challenge dose of a weakened diarrhea-causing E. coli after 2 weeks; Arla staff were co-authors (Ten Bruggencate et al. 2016, J Nutr).
58 healthy adults (30 MFGM, 28 control).
MFGM did not change E. coli shedding, one of the two primary outcomes, or fecal wet weight. It reduced the rise in reported stool frequency (1.1 versus 1.6 stools per day) and in gut complaints on day 2, which were secondary outcomes. The challenge strain caused only mild symptoms, with full recovery within 2 days.