Traditionally, it was believed that a glass of warm milk at bedtime gives a better good night sleep . Generally, tryptophan increases the sleeping properties of milk but recently scientists came across that a mixture of milk peptides named casein tryptic hydrolysate (CTH) relieves stress and helps to sleep. In ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, some scientists have reported that they have recognized certain peptides in CTH which can be useful for new and natural sleep remedies in nearby future.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported that one-third of grown-ups of the U.S. don’t get sufficient sleep. Benzodiazepines and zolpidem are sedatives that are generally recommended for insomnia, but side effects and addiction are major concerns. Most of the sedatives act by activating the GABA receptor which is a protein in the brain that suppresses nerve signals. Various natural peptides or pieces of proteins which bind GABA receptor and has anti-anxiety and better sleeping effects was recently found out by the scientists. Example-Combination of peptides CTH is been made by the digestive enzyme trypsin and casein which is a protein in cow’s milk. α-casozepine (α-CZP) is the peptide that is generally found in this combination. Also, Lin Zheng, Mouming Zhao and colleagues tried to find better sleep-enhancing peptides in CTH.
The effects of CTH and α-CZP in mouse sleep tests were differentiated and results showed that CTH has greater sleep-enhancing properties than α-CZP alone which also proposed that these peptides besides α-CZP exist in CTH. Mass spectrometry was used by the team to recognize bioactive peptides discharged from CTH during simulated gastric digestion. Also, the screening of the peptides binding to GABA receptor and the potential to cross the blood-brain barrier was done. Researchers analyzed that the powerful candidates when tested in mice, the leading (YPVEPF) had risen the count of rapidly sleeping mice by 25% and duration greater than 400% compared to control group. Researchers suggest that other peptides in CTH that promote sleep through different pathways should also be analyzed.
Reference:
Jingjing Qian et al, Identification and Screening of Potential Bioactive Peptides with Sleep-Enhancing Effects in Bovine Milk Casein Hydrolysate, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2021).
Source: ACS Journal of Agriculture and food chemistry
Provided by American Chemical Society
Blog by Tushar Gupta
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