Data edition of
Residue An evidence-graded reference for peptide science

Monograph in Regulatory peptides

DSIP (delta sleep-inducing peptide)

A nine-residue peptide isolated from rabbit blood in 1977 and named for slow-wave sleep. Small human studies in the 1980s were positive; the best-controlled one was not.

Also called Delta sleep-inducing peptide · Emideltide

C

Best evidence: Limited / early human data

Small double-blind studies from 1983–1992 in insomnia, including a 16-patient parallel-group study that found weak, possibly incidental effects; no registered trials.

Not FDA-approved · FDA compounding nomination withdrawn

Residue Editorial Team · updated

What is DSIP?

DSIP is a nonapeptide isolated from rabbit cerebral venous blood in 1977 and proposed as a sleep-promoting factor1PubMedDelta sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP): a still unresolved riddle. Kovalzon VM & Strekalova TV J Neurochem. 2006.. Small 1980s studies reported better sleep in insomnia2PubMedDSIP in insomnia. Schneider-Helmert D Eur Neurol. 1984.,3PubMedEffects of delta-sleep-inducing peptide on 24-hour sleep-wake behaviour in severe chronic insomnia. Schneider-Helmert D Eur Neurol. 1987., but a 1992 double-blind study of 16 insomniacs found weak effects and little therapeutic promise4PubMedEffects of delta sleep-inducing peptide on sleep of chronic insomniac patients. A double-blind study. Bes F et al. Neuropsychobiology. 1992.. FDA lists emideltide (DSIP) among withdrawn compounding nominations5FDACertain Bulk Drug Substances for Use in Compounding that May Present Significant Safety Risks. U.S. FDA, content current as of 04/22/2026..

PubMed records
46324 reviews
Trial publications
186 tagged RCT
Registered studies
00 active · 0 phase 3
Molecular weight
848.8g/mol · PubChem
Evidence grade
CLimited / early human data

Key findings

  1. In 16 chronic insomniacs given 25 nmol/kg IV or placebo for three nights, sleep efficiency and latency improved slightly, but effects were weak and subjective sleep quality did not change4.
  2. In 14 middle-aged chronic insomniacs, seven nights of DSIP under placebo-controlled, double-blind conditions improved night sleep and daytime alertness3.
  3. Early studies reported sleep improvement after single 25 nmol/kg injections and normalization after four doses2.
  4. A 2006 review called DSIP 'a still unresolved riddle': no gene, precursor protein or receptor had been isolated1.
  5. FDA lists emideltide (DSIP) among withdrawn compounding nominations and says it has identified no safety information for the proposed route5.

Written by Residue Editorial Team

Reviewed by Residue Editorial Team · source-by-source check,

First published

Last updated

Registry data · How we grade · Markdown + sources

What is DSIP, chemically?

Identifiers retrieved from PubChem.
PubChem CID68816 “Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide”
FormulaC35H48N10O15
Molecular weight848.8 g/mol
CAS (as listed)62568-57-4, 69431-45-4
FDA UNIIYN28Z5YZ73
InChIKeyZRZROXNBKJAOKB-GFVHOAGBSA-N
Length9 residues
Route in trialsSlow intravenous injection (studies)
MechanismUnknown; no receptor or gene identified
  • Hydrophobic
  • Polar
  • Acidic (−)
  • Gly / Pro / Cys
Figure 1. Residue sequence of DSIP (9 positions) as recorded in PubChem CID 68816 — H-Trp-Ala-Gly-Gly-Asp-Ala-Ser-Gly-Glu-OH.

What is DSIP?

Delta sleep-inducing peptide was isolated from rabbit cerebral venous blood in Basel in 1977 and initially regarded as a candidate sleep-promoting factor1. PubChem lists the nine-residue sequence WAGGDASGE and the name emideltide6PubChemPubChem compound record: Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide. C35H48N10O15 · MW 848.8 g/mol.. Its structure differs from all other known peptide families1.

How is DSIP thought to work?

Nobody knows. A 2006 review noted that no DSIP gene, protein precursor or receptor had been isolated, and that the hypothesis linking DSIP to sleep is extremely poorly documented. In the authors' animal studies, certain synthetic DSIP analogs, but not DSIP itself, promoted slow-wave sleep1.

What have studies found?

Early human studies. Five double-blind studies with single and repeated intravenous injections reported good tolerability, sleep induction with a latency of about an hour, and normalization of disturbed sleep after four consecutive injections; slow injection was essential7PubMedEffects of DSIP in man. Multifunctional psychophysiological properties besides induction of natural sleep. Schneider-Helmert D & Schoenenberger GA Neuropsychobiology. 1983.. In 14 middle-aged chronic insomniacs, a week of nightly DSIP improved night sleep and daytime alertness under placebo-controlled conditions3.

The 1992 study. In a double-blind, matched-pairs, parallel-group study of 16 chronic insomniacs, 25 nmol/kg DSIP was given intravenously before three nights. Sleep efficiency was higher and latency shorter than on placebo, but the effects were weak and partly due to a change in the placebo group; subjective sleep quality did not change. The authors concluded short-term DSIP is not likely to be of major therapeutic benefit in chronic insomnia4.

Registered trials. ClinicalTrials.gov returned no registered studies at our last fetch8TrialClinicalTrials.gov registry search: "delta sleep-inducing peptide" OR DSIP OR emideltide. 0 registered studies at fetch..

Is DSIP FDA-approved?

Table 1. Regulatory status of DSIP in the United States — from Drugs@FDA (openFDA) and FDA’s bulk-substance compounding categories, as fetched.
RecordStatusSource
FDA approval No approved application Drugs@FDA returned no application for “DSIP”. openFDA
Compounding: nominated, then withdrawn
Emideltide (DSIP)		 Withdrawn nomination FDA still lists its safety concerns:
“Compounded drugs containing emideltide may pose risk for immunogenicity for certain routes of administration and may have complexities with regard to peptide-related impurities and API characterization. FDA has not identified safety-related information regarding emideltide for the proposed route of administration. Therefore, the agency lacks sufficient information to know whether the drug would cause harm if…”		 5

FDA lists "Emideltide (DSIP)" among substances whose compounding nominations were withdrawn. It notes possible immunogenicity and impurity complexities and says FDA has identified no safety-related information for the proposed route, so it lacks sufficient information to know whether emideltide would cause harm in humans5. Drugs@FDA returned no application.

What is still unknown?

  • Its natural role and receptor, unresolved since 19771.
  • Any modern trial. The human studies we found date from 1983 to 19927,4.

What effects has DSIP shown, by body system?

Each row is graded separately using the Residue evidence scale: a compound can carry an A for one use and a D for another.

Table 2. Research-observed effects of DSIP by body system, with the strongest evidence available for each.
SystemWhat was observedGrade
Chronic insomniaPositive small double-blind studies in the 1980s3,7; weak effect in a 1992 parallel-group study4. C
Daytime alertnessHigher alertness and performance reported in small studies3,7. C
Sleep (animal)Slow-wave-sleep promotion by synthetic analogs rather than DSIP itself in rabbits and rats1. D

How much research is there on DSIP?

01326 1990: 21 records 1990 1991: 20 records 1992: 26 records 1993: 13 records 1994: 17 records 1995: 21 records 1995 1996: 10 records 1997: 9 records 1998: 15 records 1999: 8 records 2000: 4 records 2000 2001: 11 records 2002: 7 records 2003: 15 records 2004: 10 records 2005: 2 records 2005 2006: 7 records 2007: 4 records 2008: 6 records 2009: 5 records 2010: 2 records 2010 2011: 4 records 2012: 5 records 2013: 5 records 2014: 9 records 2015: 3 records 2015 2016: 2 records 2017: 2 records 2018: 1 records 2019: 0 records 2020: 2 records 2020 2021: 3 records 2022: 0 records 2023: 1 records 2024: 2 records 2025: 1 records 2025 2026: 1 records (year to date) 2026
Figure 2. PubMed records per publication year matching ("delta sleep-inducing peptide"[tiab] OR DSIP[tiab] OR emideltide[tiab]) — 463 in total; peak 26 in 1992. The 2026 bar is year-to-date (hatched). Volume of literature is not evidence of efficacy. Run this query on PubMed.

No studies listing DSIP as an intervention were returned by ClinicalTrials.gov at the last fetch.

Figure 3. 0 studies on ClinicalTrials.gov match the registry search "delta sleep-inducing peptide" OR DSIP OR emideltide. Multi-phase studies are counted at their highest phase.

Compare and continue

Questions readers ask

Is DSIP FDA-approved?

No. FDA lists 'Emideltide (DSIP)' among withdrawn compounding nominations, noting immunogenicity risk and that it lacks information to know whether it would cause harm in humans5.

Does DSIP help you sleep?

Small 1980s studies reported better sleep in insomnia3,2, but a 1992 double-blind study found the effects weak and possibly due to a change in the placebo group4.

What is emideltide?

Emideltide is the international non-proprietary name for DSIP; PubChem lists it as a synonym, with the sequence WAGGDASGE6.

References

Every source below was retrieved from its official API or page and cached on the data-edition date. Numbers match the margin notes.

  1. 1 PubMed Kovalzon VM, Strekalova TV. Delta sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP): a still unresolved riddle. J Neurochem 2006. PMID 16539679; doi:10.1111/j.1471-4159.2006.03693.x.
  2. 2 PubMed Schneider-Helmert D. DSIP in insomnia. Eur Neurol 1984. PMID 6391925; doi:10.1159/000115714.
  3. 3 PubMed Schneider-Helmert D. Effects of delta-sleep-inducing peptide on 24-hour sleep-wake behaviour in severe chronic insomnia. Eur Neurol 1987. PMID 3622582; doi:10.1159/000116143.
  4. 4 PubMed Bes F, Hofman W, Schuur J, et al. Effects of delta sleep-inducing peptide on sleep of chronic insomniac patients. A double-blind study. Neuropsychobiology 1992. PMID 1299794; doi:10.1159/000118919.
  5. 5 FDA Certain Bulk Drug Substances for Use in Compounding that May Present Significant Safety Risks. U.S. FDA, content current as of 04/22/2026.
  6. 6 PubChem PubChem compound record: Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide. C35H48N10O15 · MW 848.8 g/mol.
  7. 7 PubMed Schneider-Helmert D, Schoenenberger GA. Effects of DSIP in man. Multifunctional psychophysiological properties besides induction of natural sleep. Neuropsychobiology 1983. PMID 6689058; doi:10.1159/000117964.
  8. 8 ClinicalTrials.gov ClinicalTrials.gov registry search: "delta sleep-inducing peptide" OR DSIP OR emideltide. 0 registered studies at fetch.