A new clinical study has suggested a peptide could provide a natural alternative to pharmaceutical pills to help with sleep.
The rice protein hydrolysate ingredient — PeptiSleep — was discovered by the Irish biotech firm Nuritas, which uses its proprietary Magnifier NπΦ platform to identify peptides with the potential to support human health using AI.
The study is the first to assess an AI-discovered sleep ingredient in a placebo-controlled trial.
Published in the journal Sleep Medicine: X, the eight-week, randomised, placebo-controlled, parallel-design pilot trial enrolled 26 adults (aged 18-65) with self-reported sleep impairment.
Key findings
It found that those who used the peptide reported improvements in ease of getting to sleep, sleep quality and behaviour following wakefulness and alertness on waking.
There were also nominally significant differences versus placebo in the sleep initiation and sleep maintenance domains.
Participants wore Oura wearables to track parameters such as heart rate variability (HRV), heart rate (HR) and sleep stages. The wearable data showed the PeptiSleep group had higher HRV, lower nocturnal HR and greater deep sleep, signalling more restorative sleep.
Interestingly, the PeptiSleep group also reported improved mood alongside sleep.
The supplement was also well tolerated during the study with no clinically significant safety findings.
The trial's findings, Nuritas said, warrant a follow-on study — but give the company a strong base to build upon. The team said it is now planning larger, follow-on trials.
PeptiSleep is currently available as a powder ingredient, suited to a multitude of formulations. The company said that it can be used alongside or in place of ingredients such as melatonin.
