A new study published in Behavioural Brain Research has shown that a patented hydrolysate of milk protein (Lactium) is “capable of facilitating and promoting sleep, with no or minimal sedative properties.”

According to the study authors, despite the putative sleep-promoting properties of bovine alpha S1-casein tryptic hydrolysate (CH, also known as Lactium) no study has directly assessed the sedative and sleep-promoting effects of the ingredient. Thus, in the present study, the authors set out to evaluate these effects.

The study found that “Lactium induces sleep promotion as shown by an augmented pentobarbital-induced sleep in mice and an increased slow (delta) EEG wave in rats. This sleep-promoting effect, they note, is probably mediated through the GABAergic neurotransmitter system.”
 
The probable sedative effect of Lactium was evaluated through the open-field and rota-rod test, and compared with the results of mice treated with the benzodiazepine drug, diazepam.  

“Consistent with previous studies, diazepam, decreased (after single treatment) the locomotor activity of mice in the open-field test,” according to the authors. “A decreased locomotor activity in this test is considered to reflect the sedative effects of a substance. Although a trend can be observed, Lactium did not significantly alter the locomotor activity of mice. This result indicates that this substance has no strong sedative effects. Similar results were observed in the rota-rod test.”

Mitch Skop, senior director, new product development for Pharmachem, the U.S. distributor of Lactium, said, “These results show that Lactium naturally enhances sleep without the groggy side effects that can be attributed to drugs. It positions Lactium has an ideal sleep aid for natural products marketers.”

In the study, Lactium was orally administered to mice in dosages of 75, 150, 300, or 500mg/kg of body weight. Then, behavioral changes consequential to Lactium treatment (acute or repeated) were observed in various experimental procedures that would characterize the sedative (open-field and rota-rod test) and sleep-promoting (pentobarbital-induced sleeping test and EEG monitoring) activities of a substance. The most commonly used and prescribed benzodiazepine, diazepam, was used as a reference drug in these experiments.

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