Lactium for stress relief

Posted on Sun, 6 May 12

Lactium is a unique milk extract that contains a natural bioactive protein with relaxing properties. Research suggests Lactium may help relive stress naturally without side effects.

Observations that mother’s milk has a calming effect on babies led a group of French researchers to investigate milk as a source of nutritional substances that might relieve stress.

They managed to isolate a protein called Lactium that has demonstrated anti-stress type effects including in anxiety and insomnia (1-4). Lactium works by mimicking a natural relaxing substance in the brain called gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA), but unlike anti-anxiety drugs that work this way, Lactium does not have side effects like sedation or addiction (5-7).

Human clinical studies

An initial exploratory study over just 2 days found that Lactium (200 mg every 12 hours for a total of 3 doses) reduced increases in blood pressure, heart rate and stress hormones after a stress test (8).

A second study in healthy adults (27 female and 25 male) showed that Lactium (150 mg every evening daily for 30 days) reduced the physical effects of a mental stress test as measured by blood pressure reactivity (9).

In a group of women with stress related anxiety, sleep, or general fatigue Lactium (150 mg every evening daily for 30 days) was found to reduce stress related symptoms, particularly digestive, cardiovascular, intellectual, emotional, and social problems (10).

And in people with problems sleeping Lactium (150 mg 1 hour before bed for 4 weeks) improved sleep quality and time to fall asleep after two weeks and daytime dysfunction after four weeks (11).

A small study in athletes found that Lactium (150 mg per day for 4 weeks) prevented increases in the stress hormone cortisol that often occurs with intense physical training (12).

Lactium: Dose and safety

The typical dosage of Lactium is 150 mg per day and clinical improvements tend to occur over 2-4 weeks.

Lactium has no reported side effects in experimental or human clinical studies.

Speak to you health professional if you are taking anti-depressant or anti-anxiety mediation as theoretically Lactium may potentiate their effects.

References:

1. Miclo L, Perrin E, Driou A, Papadopoulos V, Boujrad N, Vanderesse R, et al. Characterization of alpha-casozepine, a tryptic peptide from bovine alpha(s1)-casein with benzodiazepine-like activity. Faseb J 2001;15:1780–2.

2. Schroeder H., Violle N., Messaoudi M., Lefranc-Millot C., Nejdi A.,. Demagny B, Desor D. (2003 ) Effects of ING-911, a tryptic hydrolysate from bovine milk aS1 casein on anxiety of Wistar male rats measures in the conditioned defensive burying paradigm and the elevated plus maze test. Behavioural Pharmacology, 14 (S1), S38, 31.

3. Violle N., Messaoudi M., Lefranc-Millot C., Desor D., Nejdi A., Demagny B., Schoeder H. ( 2006) Ethological comparison of the effects of a bovine as1-casein tryptic hydrolysate and diazepam on the behaviour of rats in two models of anxiety. Pharmacololgy, Biochemistry and Behavior, 84, 517-523.

4. Guesdon B, Messaoudi M, Lefranc-Millot C, Fromentin G, Tomé D, Even PC. A tryptic hydrolysate from bovine milk alphaS1-casein improves sleep in rats subjected to chronic mild stress. Peptides. 2006 Jun;27(6):1476-82.

5. Lecouvey M, Frochot C, Miclo L, Orlewski P, Driou A, Linden G, Gaillard JL, Marraud M, Cung MT, Vanderesse R. Two-dimensional 1H-NMR and CD structural analysis in a micellar medium of a bovine alphaS1-casein fragment having benzodiazepine-like properties. Eur J Biochem. 1997 Sep 15;248(3):872-8.

6. Lecouvey M., Frochot C., Miclo L., Orlewski P., Marraud M., Gaillard J.-L., Cung M. T. & Vanderesse R. (1997b) Conformational studies of a benzodiazepine-like peptide in SDS micelles by circular dichroism, H NMR and molecular dynamics simulation. Lett. Pept. Sci., 4, 359-364.

7. Messaoudi M, Lalonde R, Schroeder H, Desor D. Anxiolytic-like effects and safety profile of a tryptic hydrolysate from bovine alpha s1-casein in rats. Fundam Clin Pharmacol. 2009 Jun;23(3):323-30.

8. Miclo L, Perrin E, Driou A, Papadopoulos V, Boujrad N, Vanderesse R, et al. Characterization of alpha-casozepine, a tryptic peptide from bovine alpha(s1)-casein with benzodiazepine-like activity. Faseb J 2001;15:1780–2.

9. Lanoir D., Canini F., Messaoudi M., Lefranc C., Demagny B., Martin S. & Bourdon L. (2002) Long term effects of a bovine milk alpha-S1 casein hydrolysate on healthy low and high stress responders. Stress, 5 (suppl.), 124.

10. Kim JH, Desor D, Kim YT, Yoon WJ, Kim KS, Jun JS, Pyun KH, Shim I. Efficacy of alphas1-casein hydrolysate on stress-related symptoms in women. Eur J Clin Nutr.  2007 Apr;61(4):536-41.

11. de Saint Hilaire Z., MESSAOUDI M., DESOR D., KOBAYASHI T. Effects of a bovine alpha S1-casein tryptic hydrolysate (CTH) on sleep disorder in Japanese general population . Open Sleep Journal, 2009, 2, 26-32

12. Santuré, M. The effect of Lactium on biathlete training. [unpublished]