Lactium®: The Milk-Derived Ingredient Behind a Calmer Mind

What if a natural relaxant backed by clinical research wasn’t a herb or a root, but a peptide hidden inside an everyday glass of milk?

That is exactly what alpha-casozepine is. First identified by French researcher in 2001, in this small, ten-amino-acid peptide is released when casein, the main protein in milk, is broken down by the enzyme trypsin through a process called tryptic hydrolysis. It is the same natural process that happens in the body, especially in infants, whose digestive systems are rich in active trypsin. As people get older, trypsin activity tends to decline, meaning the body naturally produces less alpha-casozepine over time.

That’s where Lactium® comes in

Lactium® is a patented milk protein hydrolysate developed by French company ingredia. It’s created through a natural enzymatic process, tryptic hydrolysis, where the enzyme trypsin breaks down casein into alpha-casozepine.

How Does It Work?

Alpha-casozepine binds to GABA-A receptors in the brain, the same receptor family targeted by benzodiazepines. This increases the flow of chloride ions into nerve cells, which has a calming, inhibitory effect on overactive neural signaling. Unlike pharmaceutical benzodiazepines, alpha-casozepine appears to bind more selectively, which may explain why it produces a calming effect without the sedation, drowsiness, or cognitive fog associated with many anti-anxiety drugs.

Lactium® is also thought to influence the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the hormonal system that governs the body’s stress response, which lines up with research showing reduced cortisol levels after supplementation.

Clinical studies on Lactium®

Anti-stress efficacy on acute stress

Plasma cortisol levels are significantly reduced after the stress tests in Lactium® treated group

Efficacy on sleep disorders

Lactium® group improve its sleep of 9.7% (37.4 min) after 4 weeks compared with the placebo treated group

Contact us to know more about Lactium®.