Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide

DSIP · Delta sleep inducing peptide · Emideltide

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Insomnia^1–3 Sleep efficiency^{2, 3} Chronic pain episodes⁴ Stress tolerance⁵

Delta sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP) is a neuropeptide whose sleep-promoting properties were confirmed in animal experiments before human testing⁵. The United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lists emideltide (DSIP) among bulk substances previously in compounding category 2 for significant safety risks, and the nominators withdrew the nomination⁶. It is used for insomnia, where small intravenous studies in chronic insomniacs reported longer, less interrupted sleep¹. It is also used for chronic pain episodes and for stress tolerance^{4, 5}.

Controlled data are mixed. Early double-blind work in healthy volunteers found more sleep and better sleep efficiency after intravenous administration². A later double-blind trial in chronic insomniacs found weak effects and concluded short-term treatment was unlikely to be of major therapeutic benefit³. A small pilot in patients with chronic pain episodes reported lower pain levels, without a control group⁴. In healthy men, a 1995 placebo-controlled infusion study found no effect on cortisol release after corticotropin-releasing hormone or a meal, which does not support the proposed inhibitory role⁷. Human trials gave it by slow intravenous injection, and routes and products are compared in Form comparison.

The FDA cites possible immunogenicity for certain routes of compounded emideltide, along with peptide-related impurity concerns, and states it lacks sufficient information to know whether the drug would cause harm⁶. Early intravenous studies reported good tolerability but were short and small^{1, 2}.

Last updated October 17, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

32 sources, 16 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources