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RUO · Research Use OnlyFor Sleep+2 more

DSIP

A nine-amino-acid peptide isolated from rabbit cerebral venous blood in 1977 by Schoenenberger and Monnier. We read all 60 studies. The protocol is below.

Updated 03 May 2026Read 12 minEvidence ●○○○○Citations 60
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The DSIP Report · $19

Everything you need to start: dose, sourcing, safety, our verdict.

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Built from 60 cited studies.

Status
Research-only
Class
For Sleep
Evidence
1/ 5●○○○○
Randomized human trials
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FDA status
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Year discovered
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Read this if
  • you've already tried magnesium glycinate, apigenin, and a sleep tracker and still can't sleep
  • you're a shift worker or new parent whose architecture is wrecked
  • you're recovering from benzo or alcohol withdrawal and your sleep hasn't come back
  • you want an explicit 4–8-week experiment frame with a labeled stop point — DSIP is a responder/non-responder molecule and the literature is too thin to keep running on "give it more time"
Skip this if
  • you're shopping for a sleep pill or a nasal spray — DSIP is a **subcutaneous injection** (mix the powder, draw it up, needle yourself nightly). If that's a hard no, this isn't the molecule for you.
  • you want randomized trial data — what exists is small, old, and mostly animal
  • you haven't tried CBT-I or addressed obvious sleep-hygiene issues yet
  • you're on benzodiazepines, opioids, or other CNS depressants without your prescriber knowing
The 4 ways you can buy DSIP
Brand
✗
No FDA approval
Compounded 503A
✓
Rare — not standard 503A i…
$80–$160/mo where available
Hard to source legally for systemic use; very few pharmacies stock.
RUO (research-only)
✓
Sold for research only
$30–$70/mo
Dominant channel; identity and purity unverified.
Gray market
✓
Illegal to import for huma…
$3–$5/mo
Available but very small demand; DSIP rarely shows up in gray-channel discussions.
Click any lane for the full Sourcing breakdown.
First 90 days · DSIP
Weeks 1–2
Different shape from GLP-1s or recovery peptides — DSIP is nightly subQ pre-bed, the question is sleep architecture not weight or repair. Track sleep with a wearable (Oura, Apple Watch, etc.) BEFORE you start; without baseline data you can't tell whether week-1 'feels different' is the peptide or expectation.
Weeks 4–8
If sleep depth (deep + REM minutes) hasn't measurably shifted in 3–4 weeks of nightly dosing, this isn't your protocol. The 50-year-old original DSIP literature is thin enough that your n=1 wearable trial IS the evidence base. Don't extend a non-responding run.
Week 12 — decide
Honest decision point. Either your wearable shows a meaningful deep-sleep or REM shift vs the no-peptide baseline, or it doesn't. There is no objective biomarker to fall back on — the sleep tracker is the read.
Quit if
  • 4 weeks of nightly dosing with zero wearable-measured shift in deep or REM minutes — this is the molecule's responder/non-responder line.
  • New daytime sedation or grogginess that doesn't resolve in 1–2 weeks — the trial route was IV in research settings; subQ at home is extrapolated.
  • You haven't ruled out sleep apnea — peptides for sleep without an apnea workup is treating the wrong problem.
  • 12 weeks of measurable benefit but you can't stop without rebound insomnia — chronic dependence on an under-studied peptide is not a stable outcome.
Identity

What it is.

DSIP stands for Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide — a nine-amino-acid first isolated by Marcel Monnier's group in Switzerland in the 1970s from the cerebral venous blood of sleeping rabbits. The original observation was that something in the blood of a sleeping animal could induce delta-wave (deep, slow-wave) sleep when transfused into a recipient.

DSIP was the molecule they pulled out of that fraction. It's been on the table as a potential sleep for over four decades. Despite that long history, its endogenous receptor and mechanism of action remain unclear — there's no agreed-upon DSIP receptor in the human brain.

It has no FDA approval for any indication. Sold strictly as a research chemical (RUO) in the US. It's not on the WADA prohibited list, which makes it unusual in this category.

TL;DR

TL;DR. 30-second version.

The compressed verdict — what DSIP actually is, what the human evidence shows, and the watch-for in three bullets. Locked.

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Mechanism

Mechanism.

Mechanism · in the DSIP report

How the molecule actually works — receptor profile, downstream signaling, what to expect mechanistically.

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Evidence

Evidence. What we actually know in humans.

Evidence · in the DSIP report

The trial breakdown — phase, n, primary endpoint, who funded, what hit, what didn't.

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Human-Evidence Factbox
Randomized human trials
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FDA status
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Year discovered
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Mechanism
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Animal sleep studies
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Route
Subcutaneous injection (nightly)
Oral / nasal form available
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Major adverse events flagged
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Quit-if marker
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Dose

Dose. The actual protocol.

Dose · in the DSIP report

The specific protocol — dose, titration schedule, cycle pattern, frequency, route.

We read 60 studies to write this report.
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Sourcing

Sourcing. Where the cohort actually buys.

Sourcing · in the DSIP report

Sourcing breakdown — vendor methodology, red flags, our published test results, COA checklist.

We read 60 studies to write this report.
Get the report · $19 ↓
Safety

Safety. Side effects.

Safety · in the DSIP report

The watch-for list — contraindications, drug interactions, monitoring labs, when to stop.

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Editorial Position

Editorial position.

Editorial Position · in the DSIP report

Our editorial position — explicit yes / no / depends, with the reasoning behind it.

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Citations

Citations.

  1. 01Pollard BJ, et al. Delta sleep-inducing peptide. European journal of anaesthesiology. 2001;18(7):419-22. PMID: 11437870.
  2. 02Graf MV, et al. Delta-sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP): a review. Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews. 1984;8(1):83-93. PMID: 6145137.
  3. 03Kovalzon VM, et al. Delta sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP): a still unresolved riddle. Journal of neurochemistry. 2006;97(2):303-9. PMID: 16539679.
  4. 04Graf MV, et al. Delta-sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP): an update. Peptides. 1986;7(6):1165-87. PMID: 3550726.
  5. 05Gimble JM, et al. Delta sleep-inducing peptide and glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper: potential links between circadian mechanisms and obesity?. Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity. 2009;10 Suppl 2:46-51. PMID: 19849801.
+Show all 60 citations
  1. 06Rahman OF, et al. Therapeutic Peptides in Orthopaedics: Applications, Challenges, and Future Directions. Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews. 2026;10(1). PMID: 41490200.
  2. 07Stanojlović O, et al. [Endogenous anticonvulsants: neuropeptide Y and delta sleep inducing peptide]. Medicinski pregled. 2008;61(5-6):252-5. PMID: 19102071.
  3. 08Tukhovskaya EA, et al. Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide Recovers Motor Function in SD Rats after Focal Stroke. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland). 2021;26(17). PMID: 34500605.
  4. 09Roy K, et al. Phosphorylated delta sleep inducing peptide restores spatial memory and p-CREB expression by improving sleep architecture at high altitude. Life sciences. 2018;209:282-290. PMID: 30107169.
  5. 10Sukhanova TV, et al. Delta-sleep inducing peptide entrapment in the charged macroporous matrices. Materials science & engineering. C, Materials for biological applications. 2014;42:461-5. PMID: 25063142.
  6. 11Susić V, et al. The effects of delta-sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP) on wakefulness and sleep patterns in the cat. Brain research. 1987;414(2):262-70. PMID: 3620931.
  7. 12Zhang XG, et al. Expression and Purification of Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide Fused with Protein Transduction Domain and Human Serum Albumin in Pichia pastoris. Protein and peptide letters. 2017;24(7):668-675. PMID: 28462721.
  8. 13Susić V, et al. Effects of delta sleep inducing peptide on sleep cycle of cats deprived of paradoxical sleep. Archives internationales de physiologie et de biochimie. 1985;93(4):271-7. PMID: 2421663.
  9. 14Shandra AA, et al. [The role of the delta sleep-inducing peptide in the formation of neuropathological syndromes]. Fiziologicheskii zhurnal imeni I.M. Sechenova. 1995;81(9):13-24. PMID: 8581045.
  10. 15Koplik EV, et al. Delta sleep-inducing peptide and Deltaran: potential approaches to antistress protection. Neuroscience and behavioral physiology. 2008;38(9):953-7. PMID: 18975104.
  11. 16Bes F, et al. Effects of delta sleep-inducing peptide on sleep of chronic insomniac patients. A double-blind study. Neuropsychobiology. 1992;26(4):193-7. PMID: 1299794.
  12. 17Friedman TC, et al. Decreased delta-sleep and plasma delta-sleep-inducing peptide in patients with Cushing syndrome. Neuroendocrinology. 1994;60(6):626-34. PMID: 7700506.
  13. 18Shandra AA, et al. [The delta sleep-inducing peptide and its role in modulating epileptic activity]. Fiziologicheskii zhurnal imeni I.M. Sechenova. 1993;79(2):16-30. PMID: 8330074.
  14. 19van Kammen DP, et al. Delta sleep-inducing-peptide-like immunoreactivity (DSIP-LI) and delta sleep in schizophrenic volunteers. Sleep. 1992;15(6):519-25. PMID: 1475566.
  15. 20Bobyntsev II, et al. Effect of Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide on Functional State of Hepatocytes in Rats During Restraint Stress. Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine. 2016;160(4):421-4. PMID: 26902351.
  16. 21Graf MV, et al. Delta-sleep-inducing peptide reduces CRF-induced corticosterone release. Neuroendocrinology. 1985;41(4):353-6. PMID: 2995861.
  17. 22Graf MV, et al. Delta sleep-inducing peptide modulates the stimulation of rat pineal N-acetyltransferase activity by involving the alpha 1-adrenergic receptor. Journal of neurochemistry. 1987;48(4):1252-7. PMID: 3029331.
  18. 23Monti JM, et al. Study of delta sleep-inducing peptide efficacy in improving sleep on short-term administration to chronic insomniacs. International journal of clinical pharmacology research. 1987;7(2):105-10. PMID: 3583493.
  19. 24Vgontzas AN, et al. Delta sleep-inducing peptide in normal humans and in patients with sleep apnea and narcolepsy. Peptides. 1995;16(6):1153-6. PMID: 8532601.
  20. 25Koplik EV, et al. [Delta-sleep inducing peptide and the drug deltaran: possible approaches to antistress protection]. Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova. 2007;107(12):50-4. PMID: 18427460.
  21. 26Grigorchuk OS, et al. Neuronal activity in the dorsal hippocampus after lateral hypothalamus stimulation: effects of delta-sleep-inducing peptide. Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine. 2012;153(5):614-6. PMID: 23113238.
  22. 27Susić V. The effect of subcutaneous administration of delta sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP) on some parameters of sleep in the cat. Physiology & behavior. 1987;40(5):569-72. PMID: 3671519.
  23. 28Yon L, et al. Immunohistochemical localization of delta sleep-inducing peptide-like immunoreactivity in the central nervous system and pituitary of the frog Rana ridibunda. Neuroscience. 1992;47(1):221-40. PMID: 1315935.
  24. 29Schneider-Helmert D, et al. The influence of synthetic DSIP (delta-sleep-inducing-peptide) on disturbed human sleep. Experientia. 1981;37(9):913-7. PMID: 7028502.
  25. 30Umriukhin PE. Delta sleep-inducing peptide blocks excitatory effects of glutamate on rat brain neurons. Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine. 2002;134(1):5-7. PMID: 12459854.
  26. 31Graf MV, et al. Delta sleep-inducing peptide in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior. 1986;24(6):1797-9. PMID: 3755534.
  27. 32Charnay Y, et al. Immunohistochemical mapping of delta sleep-inducing peptide in the cat brain and hypophysis. Relationships with the LHRH system and corticotropes. Journal of chemical neuroanatomy. 1990;3(5):397-412. PMID: 2222894.
  28. 33Feldman SC, et al. Localization of neurons containing immunoreactive delta sleep-inducing peptide in the rat brain: an immunocytochemical study. Neuroscience. 1984;11(2):303-17. PMID: 6371579.
  29. 34Hruz P, et al. Intranasal administration of delta sleep-inducing peptide increases P300. Journal of clinical psychopharmacology. 2001;21(6):626-8. PMID: 11763019.
  30. 35Stanojlović O, et al. Delta sleep-inducing peptide and its tetrapeptide analogue alleviate severity of metaphit seizures. Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior. 2004;77(2):227-34. PMID: 14751449.
  31. 36Pomfrett CJ, et al. Delta sleep-inducing peptide alters bispectral index, the electroencephalogram and heart rate variability when used as an adjunct to isoflurane anaesthesia. European journal of anaesthesiology. 2009;26(2):128-34. PMID: 19142086.
  32. 37Graf MV, et al. Presence of delta-sleep-inducing peptide-like material in human milk. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism. 1984;59(1):127-32. PMID: 6547144.
  33. 38Späth-Schwalbe E, et al. Delta-sleep-inducing peptide does not affect CRH and meal-induced ACTH and cortisol secretion. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1995;20(3):231-7. PMID: 7777652.
  34. 39Shandra AA, et al. Effects of delta-sleep-inducing peptide in cerebral ischemia in rats. Neuroscience and behavioral physiology. 1998;28(4):443-6. PMID: 9762721.
  35. 40Sahu A, et al. Delta sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP) stimulates LH release in steroid-primed ovariectomized rats. Life sciences. 1987;40(12):1201-6. PMID: 3550343.
  36. 41Stanojlović OP, et al. The effect of delta sleep-inducing peptide on the EEG and power spectra in rat. Indian journal of physiology and pharmacology. 2000;44(4):428-34. PMID: 11214497.
  37. 42Friedman TC, et al. Diurnal rhythm of plasma delta-sleep-inducing peptide in humans: evidence for positive correlation with body temperature and negative correlation with rapid eye movement and slow wave sleep. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism. 1994;78(5):1085-9. PMID: 8175965.
  38. 43Makletsova MG, et al. Effect of delta sleep-inducing peptide on macromolecule biosynthesis in brain tissue of stressed rodents. Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine. 2006;141(4):416-9. PMID: 17152359.
  39. 44Sommerfelt L. Reduced sleep in cats after intraperitoneal injection of delta-sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP). Neuroscience letters. 1985;58(1):73-7. PMID: 3840239.
  40. 45Nurbakov AA, et al. Effect of delta-sleep-inducing peptide on expression of heat shock protein 70 kDa in K562 cells. Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine. 2009;147(1):39-41. PMID: 19526126.
  41. 46Hrncić D, et al. Delta-sleep-inducing peptide potentiates anticonvulsive activity of valproate against metaphit-provoked audiogenic seizure in rats. Pharmacology. 2006;77(2):78-84. PMID: 16645330.
  42. 47Zlokovic BV, et al. Passage of delta sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP) across the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier. Peptides. 1988;9(3):533-8. PMID: 3420012.
  43. 48Iyer KS, et al. Evidence for a role of delta sleep-inducing peptide in slow-wave sleep and sleep-related growth hormone release in the rat. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 1988;85(10):3653-6. PMID: 3368469.
  44. 49Schneider-Helmert D. Effects of delta-sleep-inducing peptide on 24-hour sleep-wake behaviour in severe chronic insomnia. European neurology. 1987;27(2):120-9. PMID: 3622582.
  45. 50Bjartell A, et al. Delta sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP)-like immunoreactivity in gut: coexistence with known peptide hormones. Peptides. 1989;10(1):163-70. PMID: 2664725.
  46. 51Bondarenko TI, et al. The effects of delta sleep-inducing peptide on the intensity of lipid peroxidation and xanthine oxidase activity in rat tissues during cold stress. Neuroscience and behavioral physiology. 2001;31(1):83-6. PMID: 11265821.
  47. 52Malyshenko NM, et al. [A neurophysiological analysis of the mechanisms of neuroendocrine regulation in stress and under the antistress action of the delta sleep-inducing peptide]. Uspekhi fiziologicheskikh nauk. 1993;24(4):29-46. PMID: 8237103.
  48. 53Inoué S. Sleep and sleep substances. Brain & development. 1986;8(4):469-73. PMID: 3541663.
  49. 54Salieva RM, et al. [Delta sleep-inducing peptide in the blood and hypothalamus of rats with various resistance to emotional stress]. Biulleten' eksperimental'noi biologii i meditsiny. 1988;106(9):264-6. PMID: 3167172.
  50. 55Ji AX, et al. Synthesis of delta sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP) and its physiological activity. Scientia Sinica. Series B, Chemical, biological, agricultural, medical & earth sciences. 1983;26(2):174-85. PMID: 6857232.
  51. 56Popovich IG, et al. The effect of delta-sleep-inducing peptide on the lifespan and incidence of spontaneous tumors in mice. Doklady biological sciences : proceedings of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Biological sciences sections. 2003;388:28-30. PMID: 12705123.
  52. 57Stanojlović O, et al. Interaction of Delta sleep-inducing peptide and valproate on metaphit audiogenic seizure model in rats. Cellular and molecular neurobiology. 2007;27(7):923-32. PMID: 17957464.
  53. 58Monnier VM. Synthesis of the tripeptide L-Trp-L-Ser-L-Glu. Comparison of its biological activity with that of the delta-sleep-inducing-peptide (DSIP). Experientia. Supplementum. 1977;29:3-27. PMID: 891716.
  54. 59Giusti M, et al. Delta sleep-inducing peptide administration does not influence growth hormone and prolactin secretion in normal women. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1993;18(1):79-84. PMID: 8475226.
  55. 60Graf MV, et al. Delta-sleep-inducing peptide and two of its analogs reduce nocturnal increase of N-acetyltransferase activity in rat pineal gland. Journal of neurochemistry. 1985;44(2):629-32. PMID: 3838100.
The DSIP Report · $19

Everything you need to start.

Dose, sourcing, safety, our verdict. One purchase. Yours forever.

Built from 60 cited studies.

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