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Peptides / Emideltide (DSIP)

Panel: not recommendedDelta sleep-inducing peptideNot FDA approved

Emideltide (DSIP)

Emideltide, better known as delta sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP), is a nine-amino-acid peptide discovered in 1977 in rabbits. It was named for its apparent ability to bring on deep delta sleep.

Reviewed for
Insomnia, opioid withdrawal, narcolepsy
Committee vote
6 yes, 7 no, 1 abstain
Strongest evidence
Small human studies
Legal to compound in the US
Not yet

Effects studied or claimed

What it is promoted for, and where each effect has actually been seen

  • Easier, deeper sleepClaimed
  • Easing opioid and alcohol withdrawalSmall old studies
  • Lower stress responseAnimals

How it is thought to work

Still unclear. Nearly 50 years after its discovery, no specific receptor for it has been identified.

What the evidence shows

In animals and the lab

Mixed. Some studies found a sleep effect and others did not.

In people

Small, mostly uncontrolled studies from the 1980s and early 1990s. The narcolepsy evidence was a single case report and the opioid-withdrawal evidence was two small uncontrolled studies. Those studies injected it into a vein, not under the skin as proposed for compounding.

Safety and unknowns

Poorly characterised. The FDA described it as poorly understood.

FDA review

Reviewed for opioid withdrawal, chronic insomnia and narcolepsy. The committee voted 6 to 7 against, with 1 abstention. It was the only peptide of the seven to be rejected, because of weak evidence and the approved treatments that already exist.

Committee votes are advice to the FDA. A peptide can only be compounded legally once the FDA adds it to the 503A bulks list through formal rulemaking, which has no fixed deadline.

Sources

Analysis

The sleep peptide that never quite proved itself

Peptide Evidence IndexBiology 2/10In people 2/10Index 2.0, rank 11 of 15See the full index

Delta sleep-inducing peptide was isolated in Switzerland in 1977 from the blood of rabbits whose brains were stimulated into deep sleep. When the extract was given to other rabbits, it appeared to increase slow-wave, or delta, sleep (Schoenenberger and Monnier). That origin story is why it is sold today as a natural sleep aid.

Human research peaked in the 1980s. Small studies in people with insomnia gave mixed results, with some reporting better sleep and others little effect. A Swiss group also reported that DSIP eased withdrawal symptoms in people coming off alcohol and opioids (Dick and colleagues, 1984). Interest faded, partly because the results were inconsistent and partly because scientists never found the gene that would explain how the body makes it, which left its natural role unclear.

Our view. DSIP has a long history and a few encouraging early reports, but forty years on there is still no convincing controlled evidence that it improves sleep. Modern sleep medicine offers better-studied options.

Studies and reports cited

  1. Schoenenberger GA, Monnier M. Characterization of a delta-electroencephalogram (-sleep)-inducing peptide. PNAS, 1977
  2. Dick P et al. DSIP in the treatment of withdrawal syndromes from alcohol and opiates. Eur Neurol, 1984

Summary of published research for general information. It is not medical advice and not a recommendation to use this substance.

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General information, not medical advice. Do not buy or inject unregulated peptides.