Lactium (alpha-s1 casein hydrolysate)

Also called alpha-s1 casein hydrolysate, αs1-casein tryptic hydrolysate, casein tryptic hydrolysate (CTH), milk protein hydrolysate, alpha-casozepine.

Best grade D across 5 graded outcomes Other Last checked

The short answer

From 6 sources

Lactium is a milk-casein hydrolysate sold for sleep and stress. Small trials of 150–600 mg/day for about 4 weeks (plus one 8-week trial of a blend with L-theanine) report better sleep diaries, shorter sleep onset in chronic insomnia and fewer stress symptoms (grade D), but validated sleep scales often did not beat placebo. People with milk allergy should note it is made from cow's milk protein.

Every graded outcome on this page

5 rows · line = participants
  1. Grade DStress-related symptoms in womenStressn 63
  2. Grade DSleep quality in adults with mild-to-moderate sleep disturbanceSleepn 43
  3. Grade DSleep quality and insomnia scores in adults with sleep discomfort (with L-theanine)Sleep qualityn 40
  4. Grade DSleep quality in poor sleepers (with L-theanine)Sleepn 39
  5. Grade DSleep onset and sleep scores in chronic insomniaInsomnian 36
  6. 2 more graded outcomes, in the evidence chapter

Key facts

What it is
A tryptic hydrolysate of bovine alpha-s1 casein (trademark Lactium); contains the peptide alpha-casozepine35
Usual studied dose
150–300 mg/day for 30 days; one insomnia trial started at 600 mg/day135
Chronic insomnia
In 36 adults, sleep onset on polysomnography shortened by 7.7 minutes vs a 6.1-minute lengthening on placebo over 4 weeks5
Poor sleepers
In 48 adults, sleep scales improved equally on Lactium and placebo; sleep diaries and actigraphy sleep efficiency favoured Lactium3
Stress test
In healthy volunteers facing mental and cold stress, blood pressure rose less and cortisol fell with the hydrolysate2

What it is

Lactium is a trademarked milk-protein ingredient: alpha-s1 casein broken down by trypsin, sold for sleep and stress.

How it works

Proposed

The hydrolysate contains alpha-casozepine, a ten-amino-acid casein peptide reported in laboratory studies to have benzodiazepine-like activity at GABA-A receptors; this is the proposed basis for calming and sleep effects. Trial authors cite it, but it has not been confirmed in people.35

Forms, side by side

2 forms named in our sources. The rest show what our data holds, and say plainly where it holds nothing yet.

Lactium (alpha-s1 casein hydrolysate) forms compared

2 forms
Lactium (alpha-s1 casein hydrolysate) forms compared: 2 forms by 3 attributes. Empty cells are labelled No data yet, or Not graded in the evidence row.
2 formsAlpha-s1 casein tryptic hydrolysate (Lactium)Casein hydrolysate with L-theanine
Absorption in peopleNo human absorption data for the peptides are cited here.3No head-to-head human data.4
GI toleranceNo adverse events in the Lactium phases of the 4-week poor-sleeper crossover (one itching and hives case occurred on placebo).3No notable adverse events over 4 weeks.4
Studied forSleep (300–600 mg/day) and stress symptoms (150 mg/day)Poor sleep quality in working adults
  1. Alpha-s1 casein tryptic hydrolysate (Lactium)
    Absorption in people
    No human absorption data for the peptides are cited here.3
    GI tolerance
    No adverse events in the Lactium phases of the 4-week poor-sleeper crossover (one itching and hives case occurred on placebo).3
    Studied for
    Sleep (300–600 mg/day) and stress symptoms (150 mg/day)
  2. Casein hydrolysate with L-theanine
    Absorption in people
    No head-to-head human data.4
    GI tolerance
    No notable adverse events over 4 weeks.4
    Studied for
    Poor sleep quality in working adults
Every cell holds data from a cited page; citation numbers link to the page that holds them.Scroll the table for every column

What the human research says

Human trials only, one row per outcome. The form line shows what each trial actually tested. Grades follow our evidence-grading policy.

Trial map

5 graded outcomes, largest study first

5 graded outcomes: 3 improved, 2 mixed. The largest, a 2007 crossover trial of 63 people on Stress-related symptoms in women, found an improvement.

1. Stress-related symptoms in women: improved, 63 people14. Sleep quality in poor sleepers (with L-theanine): improved, 39 people45. Sleep onset and sleep scores in chronic insomnia: improved, 36 people5
2. Sleep quality in adults with mild-to-moderate sleep disturbance: mixed, 43 people23. Sleep quality and insomnia scores in adults with sleep discomfort (with L-theanine): mixed, 40 people3

1Stress-related symptoms in women

Improved · Grade D · Crossover RCT, 63 people, 2007

Women with at least one stress-related complaint such as anxiety, poor sleep or fatigue

Dose, result and source
Every graded outcome on this page, largest study first
OutcomeFoundPeopleStudyWho was studied
Stress-related symptoms in womenImproved63Grade D · Crossover RCT, 2007Women with at least one stress-related complaint such as anxiety, poor sleep or fatigue
Sleep quality in adults with mild-to-moderate sleep disturbanceMixed43Grade D · Crossover RCT, 2019Community adults with poor sleep quality, mean age 49 (Korea)
Sleep quality and insomnia scores in adults with sleep discomfort (with L-theanine)Mixed40Grade D · RCT, 2024Korean adults with sleep discomfort
Sleep quality in poor sleepers (with L-theanine)Improved39Grade D · Crossover RCT, 2022Working adults with poor sleep quality (Malaysia)
Sleep onset and sleep scores in chronic insomniaImproved36Grade D · RCT, 2024Adults with chronic insomnia (Taiwan, hospital-based)
Each circle is one graded outcome on this page, numbered from the largest study down, and placed by how many people it studied (log scale). It shows who was studied and what was found, not advice about your dose.

Every graded row

5 rows

Showing 5 of 5 outcomes. Human trials only.

Grade DStress-related symptoms in womenStressImprovedCrossover RCT
n 63 · 2007

Improved Digestive, cardiovascular, intellectual, emotional and social symptom scores fell more than with placebo on a 44-item questionnaire.

Design
Crossover RCT, n = 63, 2007
Population
Women with at least one stress-related complaint such as anxiety, poor sleep or fatigue
Form
Alpha-s1 casein hydrolysate tablets
Dose
150 mg/day
Duration
30 days per period
Source
Reference 1 · PubMed 17136040 (opens PubMed)
Grade DSleep quality in adults with mild-to-moderate sleep disturbanceSleepMixedCrossover RCT
n 43 · 2019

Mixed Sleep-disturbance scales and daytime functioning improved similarly on Lactium and placebo; sleep diaries (longer sleep, shorter onset, less waking) and actigraphy sleep efficiency favoured Lactium; polysomnography showed no significant difference.

Design
Crossover RCT, n = 43, 2019
Population
Community adults with poor sleep quality, mean age 49 (Korea)
Form
Alpha-s1 casein hydrolysate (Lactium)
Dose
300 mg/day
Duration
4 weeks per period
Source
Reference 3 · PubMed 31252661 (opens PubMed)
Grade DSleep quality and insomnia scores in adults with sleep discomfort (with L-theanine)Sleep qualityMixedRCT
n 40 · 2024

Mixed Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Insomnia Severity Index did not differ from placebo. Sleep diaries favoured the product for night-time awakenings at 8 weeks and bedtime at 4 weeks.

Design
RCT, n = 40, 2024
Population
Korean adults with sleep discomfort
Form
LTC-022, a commercial supplement of Lactium plus L-theanine
Dose
Daily (amount not stated in the abstract)
Duration
8 weeks
Source
Reference 6 · PubMed 38953043 (opens PubMed)
Grade DSleep quality in poor sleepers (with L-theanine)SleepImprovedCrossover RCT
n 39 · 2022

Improved PSQI total score, sleep latency, duration and efficiency improved, and total sleep was 45 minutes longer than on placebo; only sleep duration and habitual efficiency held up in both analyses.

Design
Crossover RCT, n = 39, 2022
Population
Working adults with poor sleep quality (Malaysia)
Form
Blend: casein tryptic hydrolysate with L-theanine (RLX2)
Dose
Capsules with 150 mg hydrolysate + 50 mg L-theanine each
Duration
4 weeks
Source
Reference 4 · PubMed 35277011 (opens PubMed)
Grade DSleep onset and sleep scores in chronic insomniaInsomniaImprovedRCT
n 36 · 2024

Improved Global sleep-disorder scores fell more than with placebo (p=0.045) and polysomnography sleep onset shortened (−7.7 vs +6.1 minutes, p=0.012); other scales improved from baseline in the Lactium group.

Design
RCT, n = 36, 2024
Population
Adults with chronic insomnia (Taiwan, hospital-based)
Form
Alpha-s1 casein hydrolysate (Lactium)
Dose
600 mg/day for 2 weeks, then 300 mg/day
Duration
4 weeks
Source
Reference 5 · PubMed 39541860 (opens PubMed)

What the numbers add up to

Each point is worked out from the data and the sources numbered on this page, with the arithmetic shown under it. It adds no new data and is not medical advice.

Placebo matched it on standard sleep scales

In the 48-person crossover, validated sleep-disturbance scales improved as much on placebo; the advantage showed only in diaries and actigraphy.3

How we got this: Poor-sleeper trial abstract

Small change in sleep onset

In chronic insomnia, the polysomnography gap versus placebo was about 14 minutes (−7.7 vs +6.1 minutes).5

How we got this: 7.7 + 6.1 = 13.8 minutes

Short trials only

No trial of Lactium alone ran longer than about a month per period; the only 8-week trial tested a blend with L-theanine.13546

How we got this: Durations and forms in the evidence table

Studied doses

Doses used in research, shown against the official limits. They describe the studies, not a recommendation for you.

Studied doses in research, not advice. These are amounts used in research, not personal advice. Your clinician or pharmacist can say what fits you.

Doses studied in human trials

Doses studied in human trials ranged from 150 mg/day for 30 days (stress symptoms) to 300 mg/day for 4 weeks and 600 mg/day for 2 weeks followed by 300 mg/day (sleep); a Lactium and L-theanine blend was tested for 8 weeks at an amount not stated in the abstract.1356

Interactions and safety

Published interactions only: each row cites a source. No row means none was found in our sources, not that a combination is safe.

What Lactium meets

0 cited rows 1 tested together

Medicines 0

No medicine rows in our sources.

Lactium0 medicines · 1 supplement

Supplements and foods 1

  • Tested together in a graded trial
Also cited: 1 tested together

  1. L-theanineL-theanine page

    • Tested together

      Sleep quality in poor sleepers (with L-theanine). Graded on the Lactium page; tested together is not a claim that they work better together.

Rows as our evidence profiles cite them; links stay on this site. Line weight shows what backs a row, not how serious an interaction is. No line means none was found in our sources, not that a combination is safe. Not medical advice: ask your pharmacist.

Interactions

0 agents

None found in our sources.

Check with what you take

Kept on this device only

Add what you take. We list every interaction our evidence profiles cite between Lactium and your picks, and between your picks.

Most cited:

Add a supplement or medicine you take to check it against Lactium.

Starting from one medicine? The interaction checker rates how serious each pair is, on a curated list of 19 entries for 11 medicines. This cabinet has no severity rating: it lists every interaction row our supplement pages cite.

Not medical advice, and no dosing advice. An empty result means no row we cite names that pair, by name or through a drug class we can link the medicine to, not that a combination is safe. Where our sources name only a group of medicines we cannot match, the cabinet says so. Ask your pharmacist before you combine supplements and medicines.

Who should be careful

3 groups
Cow's milk allergy
Lactium is made from bovine milk casein, so it is a milk-protein ingredient.32
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
The cited trials give no safety data for pregnancy or breastfeeding.35
People on sleep medicines
No interaction studies are cited; the trials did not test Lactium alongside prescription sleep or anxiety drugs.53
Talk to your pharmacist or clinician before starting a supplement, especially if you take prescription medicines.

Reading the label, and the cost per dose

Compare any product you already have by the amount it delivers, not by capsule count or front-of-pack weight.

How to read the label

2 checks
Label dose vs studied dose

Sleep trials used 300 mg/day (one started at 600 mg/day); the stress trial used 150 mg/day.351

Blends

Some products combine casein hydrolysate with L-theanine or other ingredients; the blend trial cannot show what the hydrolysate does alone.4

Have the bottle? Photograph its Supplement Facts panel and see each line, lactium (alpha-s1 casein hydrolysate) included, beside the doses and forms the trials used in Label X-Ray.

Cost per studied dose, without the sales pitch

Your numbers, no product data

Enter the price, servings and the amount per serving from your label.

Formula: price ÷ (servings × amount per serving) × reference amount. Use the amount printed on the Supplement Facts panel, not the front-of-pack compound weight. Reference amounts are what trials studied or official limits, not advice for you. We don't rank or link products in this calculator.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to common questions; the numbers link to the sources below.

Common questions

7 answers
Does Lactium help you sleep?

In 36 adults with chronic insomnia it shortened sleep onset slightly versus placebo over 4 weeks. In 48 poor sleepers, and in a 40-person 8-week trial of a blend with L-theanine, standard sleep scales improved no more than placebo, though sleep diaries favoured the product.536

Does Lactium reduce stress?

A 63-woman crossover trial of 150 mg/day for 30 days reported fewer stress-related symptoms, and a lab study found smaller blood-pressure rises during stress tests.12

Is Lactium safe with a milk allergy?

It is made from cow's milk casein, so it is a milk-protein ingredient.3

How much Lactium was used in studies?

300 mg/day in the sleep trials (one started at 600 mg/day for 2 weeks) and 150 mg/day in the stress trial.351

Does Lactium interact with sleep or anxiety medicines?

No interaction studies have been published in the sources cited here, and the trials did not test it alongside prescription sleep or anxiety drugs, so interaction data are lacking.531

Is Lactium the same as casein protein powder?

No. It is a specific enzyme-digested fraction of alpha-s1 casein tested at milligram doses, not a protein supplement.23

What is Lactium?

A trademarked ingredient made by breaking down the milk protein alpha-s1 casein with trypsin. It contains the peptide alpha-casozepine.35

Sources

6 sources: trial abstracts, NIH fact sheets and reference databases. Numbers in the text link here.

Sources cited on this page

6 sources
  1. 1Efficacy of alphas1-casein hydrolysate on stress-related symptoms in women.Crossover RCT Eur J Clin Nutr, 2007 · PMID 17136040
  2. 2Effects of a tryptic hydrolysate from bovine milk alphaS1-casein on hemodynamic responses in healthy human volunteers facing successive mental and physical stress situations.RCT Eur J Nutr, 2005 · PMID 15517308
  3. 3A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Crossover Clinical Study of the Effects of Alpha-s1 Casein Hydrolysate on Sleep Disturbance.Crossover RCT Nutrients, 2019 · PMID 31252661
  4. 4Effect of Alpha-S1-Casein Tryptic Hydrolysate and L-Theanine on Poor Sleep Quality: A Double Blind, Randomized Placebo-Controlled Crossover Trial.Crossover RCT Nutrients, 2022 · PMID 35277011
  5. 5The impact of Alpha-s1 Casein hydrolysate on chronic insomnia: A randomized, double-blind controlled trial.RCT Clin Nutr, 2024 · PMID 39541860
  6. 6Dietary supplementation with Lactium and L-theanine alleviates sleep disturbance in adults: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study.RCT Front Nutr, 2024 · PMID 38953043

What changed

Every dated change to this page: what changed, who made it and why.

Change log

3 entries
Dated changes to this page
DateChangeWho and why
evidence, studied doses, insights, FAQ, summary, sourcesAdded the 2024 RCT of a Lactium and L-theanine blend (PMID 38953043; null on PSQI and ISI, diary benefits only); updated studied doses, the short-trials insight and the sleep FAQ; new FAQ noting that interaction data are lacking. Fact-checked against the sources; corrected: the summary no longer implies Lactium alone was tested for 8 weeks.Writer: Kymata Health EditorialTrigger: A–Z page audit
allFirst draft. Every PMID checked against NCBI E-utilities esummary (title, journal and year taken from the record) and abstracts read for each cited row.Writer: Kymata Health EditorialTrigger: new page
allAdversarial review pass: every number in each evidence row's result, dose, duration, n and population fields was machine-checked against its PubMed abstract, and figures not in an abstract were confirmed in the PMC full text (noted per row). Unverified study-country, funding and mechanism wording was removed or sourced, rows whose sample size could not be confirmed were dropped, and retraction, erratum and expression-of-concern flags were checked on every PMID (two errata, noted on their rows; no retractions). Page set indexable.Writer: Kymata Health EditorialTrigger: review

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