Review: DSM PeptoPro® Casein Protein Supplement
PeptoPro® is a casein protein supplement…with a difference. The difference is that it’s been enzymatically hydrolyzed to create a powder that’s 70%–80% di- and tri-peptides. In English, this means that the large, bulky casein protein has been broken up into small fragments, most of which are only 2–3 amino acids long. Since this parallels what happens during digestion, PeptoPro is effectively “pre-digested.”
What’s the point to using a pre-digested protein? Small peptides are more easily and quickly absorbed than intact proteins, which need to be broken down before they can be utilized by the body.
In fact, small peptides are even more quickly absorbed than free-form amino acids. This is due to the presence of a non-specific peptide transporter, vs. the more specific (and rate-limiting) transport required for free amino acids (Gilbert ER, Wong EA and Webb KE Jr., Peptide Absorption and Utilization: Implications for Animal Nutrition and Health; J Anim. Sci. 2008, Apr. 25).
According to the manufacturer, DSM Food Specialties, PeptoPro offers two benefits to athletes:
- The di- and tri-peptides can be used immediately by the body to stimulate protein synthesis and help build up muscle mass.
- PeptoPro + carbohydrate increases insulin production beyond carbohydrate alone. This enhances glucose uptake and glycogen production by muscle cells.
In support of the second point, DSM has some data from a study posted on their web site.
“The NUTRIM department of Maastricht University (The Netherlands) compared PeptoPro® Sports (4,2 g PeptoPro® and 8,2 g carbohydrate per 100 ml) with a ‘normal’ sports drink (8,2 g carbohydrate per 100 ml). Exhausting exercise was followed by a short recovery time of 5 hours. During this time the athletes were given a PeptoPro® drink (330ml) every half an hour. Then followed a second training session.
PeptoPro doubled the production of insulin after exercise and significantly reduced plasma glucose levels, showing the uptake of the glucose into the muscle was accelerated. The faster the glucose is taken up by the muscle, the faster the muscle produces glycogen, as our battery is reloaded and recovered.”
One question this study fails to answer, however, is how well PeptoPro stacks up against a fast-digesting, intact protein such as whey. Whey protein also has a high “insulin index” and has been shown to enhance insulin production and glucose disposal when consumed with carbohydrates in both normal and diabetic subjects. Thus, a comparison between PeptoPro and no PeptoPro is not as instructive as one between PeptoPro and other available (and generally less expensive) alternatives.
Unfortunately, this is a problem with the promotion of hydrolysates in general…their rapid absorption makes them superior to conventional protein supplements in a technical sense, but I’ve yet to see any proof they’re better in a practical sense.
In other words, I’m still waiting to see a study comparing hydrolysates to intact proteins with respect to gains in lean mass and strength/performance. Proponents make a good theoretical case, but there is exactly zero “hard” evidence.
Nonetheless, I think it’s fair to say they have potential…and as more than just a quickly absorbed source of essential amino acids.
How so? Well, that’s going to take a bit of explaining, so bear with me…
It just so happens that bioactive peptides have been produced from both casein and whey hydrolysates, that produce specific, physiological effects. For example, casein-derived peptides known as “casokinins” can reduce blood pressure in the same fashion as ACE-inhibitory drugs do.
Many of these “ACE-inhibitory peptides” are quite small, and have the amino acid proline in a particular position (at one end, called the “carboxy” terminus). Interestingly enough, PeptoPro has been “debittered” using a step designed to “…produce a protein hydrolysate enriched in peptides having a carboxy terminal proline.”
In other words, the same process DSM uses to reduce bitterness, may also be responsible for creating a product enriched for certain kinds of bioactive peptides.
I can speculate a little more, too…a recently published study has identified a role for ACE-inhibition in regulating metabolism and body fat deposition…at least in mice.
So a product like PeptoPro could—conceivably—have positive effects on health and body composition, apart from its basic nutritional profile and impact on insulin.
PeptoPro is sold commercially through protein customizers such as Protein Factory and True Nutrition.
I picked up a couple of pounds to test. I chose to get it “au naturel,” as I wanted to see just how “debittered” it really was.
My first impression on opening the bag was fairly positive: unlike some other “straight” hydrolysates I’ve had, it didn’t have that putrid-caramel stench reminiscent of freshly autoclaved microbiological media. The pinch of powder I tasted had a sour-bitter tang to it, but it wasn’t overpowering.
When mixing it in water, I found that adding a half-scoop of some leftover peach-mango Isopure pretty much covered up the taste. It wasn’t great—I thought it was a little bland and flat-tasting—but it was certainly acceptable.
Given it’s (strictly theoretical) potential and (relative) palatability, I’d put PeptoPro in the “worth experimenting with” category. If nothing else, it’s a good source of rapidly absorbed essential amino acids that’s virtually carb and fat-free.
An added “plus” is that the degree of hydrolysis is unlikely to trigger any food allergies. It’s a product I certainly intend to use more regularly in the coming weeks, as I’m curious to see how it stacks up over longer term use.
