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DSIP

Nonapeptide, putative sleep modulator

Also known as Delta sleep-inducing peptide

Named for an effect that later work struggled to reproduce. A nine-amino-acid peptide with fifty years of inconsistent literature and no established receptor.

Guide updated Sep 2, 2026Literature checked Sep 2, 20261 curated study14 literature recordsBaseline editorial
SequenceWAGGDASGE

This entry is mechanistic only

There is no completed human trial reporting results for this compound. Everything below describes what has been observed in animals or in cell culture, and the transfer rate from those findings to humans is poor. Read the limitations on each study, not just the findings.

Overview

In shortIsolated in the 1970s from rabbit blood during electrically induced sleep, and named after the deep sleep its discoverers associated with it. The name has done a great deal of work ever since. Fifty years later there is still no consistent picture: some studies report effects on sleep, others find none, and no receptor has ever been identified.

DSIP was isolated in the 1970s from the blood of rabbits during electrically induced sleep, and named for the delta-wave sleep its discoverers associated with it. The name has done a great deal of work ever since.

Subsequent decades have not produced a consistent picture. Some studies report effects on sleep architecture, others find none. No receptor has been definitively identified, and the peptide's presence and role as an endogenous signal remain unsettled. It is one of the clearest cases in this catalogue of a compound whose reputation rests substantially on its name.

Mechanism

In shortNo established receptor and no agreed mechanism. Proposals over the years have included effects on the brain's calming signals, on stress hormone release, and antioxidant activity. Fifty years without an identified receptor is itself informative. It does not prove the peptide does nothing, but every proposed mechanism is currently a description of a correlation rather than an explanation.

No established receptor and no agreed mechanism. Proposals over the years have included modulation of GABAergic and opioidergic signalling, effects on corticosteroid release, and antioxidant activity.

The absence of an identified receptor after fifty years is itself informative. It does not prove the peptide is inert, but it does mean every proposed mechanism is currently a description of an observed correlation rather than an explanation.

Evidence

In shortInconsistent, and old. Small human studies from the 1980s reported changes in sleep measures in some groups, including people with long-term insomnia, while others found nothing. There is no modern, properly sized, well-controlled trial for sleep or anything else. It has been studied on and off for five decades without producing a result that convinced the field.

Mechanistic and inconsistent. Small human studies from the 1980s reported changes in sleep parameters in some populations, including people with chronic insomnia, while others found no effect.

There is no modern, adequately powered, well-controlled trial for sleep or any other indication. The literature is old, small, heterogeneous, and largely from a small number of groups.

The honest summary is that this compound has been studied intermittently for five decades without producing a result that convinced the field.

Safety

In shortLimited human exposure in old, small studies reported few problems, but very few people were studied and follow-up was short. Essentially nothing is known about repeated or long-term use. With no identified receptor it is not even possible to reason about what the likely off-target risks would be, which is a worse position than having a known mechanism to worry about.

Limited human exposure in old small studies reported few adverse effects, but the total number of people studied is small and the follow-up short.

Essentially nothing is known about repeated or long-term use. Given no identified receptor, it is not even possible to reason clearly about what the plausible off-target risks would be, which is a worse epistemic position than having a known mechanism to worry about.

Regulatory status

In shortNot approved anywhere for anything. Sold as a research chemical.

Not approved anywhere for any indication. Sold as a research chemical.

The literature

1 study indexed. Findings and limitations get equal weight, on purpose.

Always check the primary source

Members area

The DSIP literature needs an account

Everything above is free to read. What an account opens is the evidence underneath it: 1 study with their limitations, and the regimen each trial actually reported.

  • Every study, with what it found and what it cannot show
  • The limitations, given the same weight as the findings
  • The dose each named trial administered, where recorded
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Reading is free, an account is not the same as paying. 43 compound guides, every study with its limitations written underneath, and the regimens those trials actually used. A free account opens all of it. A membership is a separate decision, and it opens the forum. What membership costs.

The wider literature

14 indexed papers and 0 registered trials mentioning DSIP, straight from PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov. These have not been read by us. Unlike the studies above, they carry no findings and no limitations written by anyone here, because writing either would mean claiming a reading nobody has done. They are a starting point for yours.

Papers (14)

  1. Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide Recovers Motor Function in SD Rats after Focal Stroke.

    Tukhovskaya EA, et al.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)2021PMID 34500605

    journal article

  2. Delta-sleep inducing peptide entrapment in the charged macroporous matrices.

    Sukhanova TV, et al.Materials science & engineering. C, Materials for biological applications2014PMID 25063142

    journal article

  3. Delta sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP): a still unresolved riddle.

    Kovalzon VM, et al.Journal of neurochemistry2006PMID 16539679

    journal articleresearch support, non-u.s. gov'treview

  4. Antiepileptic activity of delta sleep-inducing peptide and its analogue in metaphit-provoked seizures in rats.

    Stanojlović OP, et al.Seizure2005PMID 15911358

    comparative studyjournal articleresearch support, non-u.s. gov't

  5. Delta sleep-inducing peptide.

    Pollard BJ, et al.European journal of anaesthesiology2001PMID 11437870

    editorialreview

  6. Delta sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP)-like immunoreactivity in gut: coexistence with known peptide hormones.

    Bjartell A, et al.Peptides1989PMID 2664725

    journal articleresearch support, non-u.s. gov't

  7. Comparison of DSIP- (delta sleep-inducing peptide) and P-DSIP-like (phosphorylated) immunoreactivity in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with senile dementia of Alzheimer type, multi-infarct syndrome, communicating hydrocephalus and Parkinson's disease.

    Ernst A, et al.Journal of neurology1987PMID 2448424

    comparative studyjournal article

  8. Delta sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP) stimulates LH release in steroid-primed ovariectomized rats.

    Sahu A, et al.Life sciences1987PMID 3550343

    journal articleresearch support, u.s. gov't, p.h.s.

  9. Delta-sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP): an update.

    Graf MV, et al.Peptides1986PMID 3550726

    journal articleresearch support, non-u.s. gov'tresearch support, u.s. gov't, non-p.h.s.review

  10. Characterization, properties and multivariate functions of delta-sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP).

    Schoenenberger GAEuropean neurology1984PMID 6548966

    comparative studyjournal article

  11. Delta-sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP): a review.

    Graf MV, et al.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews1984PMID 6145137

    journal articlereview

  12. Delta sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP)-like material is absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract of the neonatal rat.

    Banks WA, et al.Life sciences1983PMID 6688848

    journal article

  13. Delta sleep-inducing peptide crosses the blood-brain-barrier in dogs: some correlations with protein binding.

    Banks WA, et al.Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior1982PMID 6897451

    journal article

  14. Characterization of a delta-electroencephalogram (-sleep)-inducing peptide.

    Schoenenberger GA, et al.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America1977PMID 265572

    journal article

Discussion

DSIP has its own forum, split by the same six categories as the rest of the site.

All threads
Research & Literature1Peptide Science0Experiences & Logs0Protocol Discussion0Safety & Harm Reduction0General Community0

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For Research & Educational Discussion Only. Not Medical Advice

This guide is educational reference material compiled from published literature. It is not medical advice, not a recommendation, and not a substitute for a clinician who knows your history. Nothing here should be used to make a decision about your own health without one.

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