Nine-amino-acid peptide found in rabbit brain blood in 1977; small 1980s sleep trials were mixed and no gene or receptor was ever found.
Also called Emideltide, Delta sleep-inducing peptide, Trp-Ala-Gly-Gly-Asp-Ala-Ser-Gly-Glu, Deltaran (Russian product with glycine)
DSIP is a nine-amino-acid peptide (Trp-Ala-Gly-Gly-Asp-Ala-Ser-Gly-Glu) that a Basel group isolated in 1977 from the cerebral venous blood of rabbits. Infused into other rabbits' brain ventricles, it increased slow-wave (delta) EEG activity, which gave it its name. Nearly 50 years later, nobody has found the gene that makes it, the protein it comes from, or a receptor it binds, so whether it is a real sleep signal in humans is still an open question.
Human testing happened mostly in the 1980s, by intravenous injection. One researcher reported that insomnia normalized over a week of injections, but two other double-blind trials found little: 16 patients in Amsterdam had slightly better sleep efficiency that the authors judged clinically unimportant, and a crossover study found no meaningful difference from placebo nights. Open-label reports in alcohol and opioid withdrawal and in chronic pain looked positive, but had no control group.
DSIP is broken down in blood within minutes. Russia registers a nasal product, Deltaran, that mixes DSIP with glycine for stress and alcohol withdrawal. In the US it is unapproved. FDA reviewed it for compounding in July 2026. Its staff concluded the evidence did not support effectiveness for insomnia, narcolepsy or opioid withdrawal and that injectable safety is unknown, and the advisory committee voted 6-7 against listing it.
What it binds to, and what happens inside the body after that, step by step.
No DSIP receptor has been identified. In animals, its sleep and pain effects appear to run partly through the opioid system: FDA's review describes it stimulating calcium-dependent release of endorphins rather than binding opioid receptors directly, and animal work cited by the early withdrawal studies found the opioid blocker naloxone reversed its EEG effects. It also has reported effects on stress hormones in animals, but a human study found it did not change ACTH or cortisol responses.
Human results and animal results are kept apart below. A result in rats tells you a mechanism is plausible. It does not tell you what happens in a person.
Small randomized, double-blind trials in chronic insomnia exist from the 1980s and 1990s, but the independent ones found little or no benefit over placebo, and FDA's 2026 review called the insomnia data inconclusive. The positive reports in withdrawal, pain and narcolepsy are uncontrolled case series or single cases. Grade B reflects that RCTs exist, not that they showed DSIP works.
16 adults with chronic insomnia, IV DSIP vs placebo for 3 nights
Sleep efficiency was slightly higher and sleep latency shorter with DSIP, but the effects were weak and subjective sleep quality did not change; authors concluded it is unlikely to be of major benefit.
Read the studyChronic insomniacs, IV DSIP vs placebo for 4 nights, crossover
Total sleep time and stage 2 sleep rose, but the same differences existed at baseline; no meaningful difference from placebo, and slow-wave sleep was unchanged.
Read the study14 middle-aged chronic insomniacs, placebo-controlled double-blind, 7 nights
Author reported improved night sleep and daytime alertness reaching normal-control levels; this single investigator's positive results were not reproduced by other groups.
Read the study67 inpatients in alcohol or opioid withdrawal, IV DSIP, no control group
Of 49 evaluable patients, 48 improved; 27% were lost or not evaluable.
Read the study107 inpatients in alcohol (47) or opioid (60) withdrawal, no control group
Symptoms resolved or improved in 97% of opioid and 87% of alcohol patients evaluated; headaches were reported by a few.
Read the studyHealthy young men, IV DSIP infusion vs placebo
ACTH and cortisol responses were almost identical with DSIP and placebo, arguing against a stress-hormone-lowering effect in humans.
Read the study58 rabbits, intraventricular infusion of synthetic peptides
Only the synthetic nonapeptide produced a specific increase in delta and spindle EEG patterns.
Read the studyThese are questions the published research has not answered.
Not FDA- or EMA-approved. The Russian product Deltaran is a DSIP plus glycine mixture; it was first registered in July 1998 (certificate 98/207/6) and is now sold under registration LP-016126 as a nonprescription product. FDA's 2026 review found that DSIP on its own (free base or acetate) is not a registered drug in any country it searched; the approved-elsewhere status here rests only on this DSIP plus glycine combination. DSIP is not named on the 2026 WADA Prohibited List. Because a DSIP-containing product is approved in Russia, WADA's S0 catch-all may not clearly apply, but athletes should confirm with their anti-doping authority.
How much of DSIP (Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide) is left after a single dose
Simple first-order model from the published half-life. Real clearance varies with dose, route, kidney and liver function and formulation. This is not a dosing schedule.
This table records the doses that trials and approved labels used, with the source for each row. It is a record of research, not a recommendation, and it is open to free members.
Which symptoms are expected and which mean stop and get help: side effects and red flags.
Tap a claim to see what the studies found.
The name comes from rabbit EEG experiments. In human trials, slow-wave sleep did not increase, and independent double-blind studies found little effect on sleep at all.
DSIP-like immunoreactivity is found in human blood and brain, but no gene or precursor protein has been identified, so this has never been established.
A human study found IV DSIP did not change ACTH or cortisol responses to CRH or a meal.
Early open-label reports were strongly positive, but there was no control group. FDA found the evidence insufficient in 2026.
One Swiss investigator reported normalization; two independent double-blind trials found no clinically meaningful benefit.
These pairings come up often. Almost none have been tested together in a trial, and the evidence note on each says so plainly.
Sold online as a sleep and circadian pairing because epitalon is marketed for melatonin and DSIP for deep sleep.
EvidenceNo human study has tested the combination. Neither peptide has shown a clear sleep benefit in independent controlled trials.
FDA notes the substance is expected to be stable below -20 C. Keep frozen, dry and away from light.
No published stability data for home-made solutions. DSIP is poorly water-soluble and breaks down quickly in biological fluids; FDA cites a recommendation to add a carrier protein for storage. The Russian product is dissolved immediately before use and not stored.
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