# Lactotripeptides (VPP and IPP)

Fermented-milk ACE-inhibitor tripeptides; lower blood pressure by a few mmHg, best data in Japan.

- Page: https://peprank.xyz/peptides/lactotripeptides
- Category: Metabolic & weight (Supplement)
- Also known as: valyl-prolyl-proline / isoleucyl-prolyl-proline; AmealPeptide (Calpis / Asahi); VasoDrive-AP (pre-workout ingredient); Evolus (Valio fermented milk)
- Routes: Oral
- Sequence: VPP (mixture of VPP + IPP (milk casein tripeptides))
- Safety tier: Strict: Caution · Balanced: Clean · Evidence only: Clean
- Risk axes (0 none to 3 severe): Seen harm 0, Mechanism 1, Data gap 0, Silent harm 1, Product 0
- Positive: 49% of 4 graded reports glowing or positive, shrunk toward the 49% all-report average by 8 reports' weight
- Rank: #9 of 23 supplements
- Graded reports: 4 (Positive 2, Nothing 1, Negative 1)
- Evidence: Human RCTs — 30+ RCTs and several meta-analyses; consistent 3-6 mmHg systolic drops in Japanese trials but small or null effects in European ones, with publication bias. EFSA rejected the blood-pressure claim three times (2009, 2011, 2012). In Japan it is an approved FOSHU 'for those with high-normal blood pressure'.
- Access: Supplement
- Onset: Trials show the BP effect at 4-8 weeks of daily intake; the pre-workout 'pump' is felt within an hour.
- Lasts: Daily dosing needed; the BP effect fades after stopping.
- Cost per month: ≈ €15–35 (researchers' estimate)
- Updated: 2026-10-30

## What users report

Almost nobody on Reddit takes these for blood pressure. The one clear blood-pressure report is a borderline-hypertensive user who found it lowered 'high normal' readings with fewer side effects than a prescription drug (under a doctor's eye). Most other reports come from the pre-workout crowd, where VasoDrive-AP at 250-1,000 mg is prized for vascular 'pumps', always stacked with citrulline, nitrates or glycerol. One user gets palpitations at 275 mg twice a week and cut back. Treat the user score as thin. Felt nothing: 1 of 6 reports; very few first-hand reports exist.

**Effects:** modest blood-pressure reduction (2-6 mmHg systolic in trials); vascular 'pump' in training (pre-workout users, stacked)

**Downsides:** palpitations reported by one pre-workout user; light-headedness possible when stacked with nitrates or antihypertensives; effect too small to replace medication for real hypertension

**Risks:** Works as a mild ACE inhibitor: its effect adds to blood-pressure drugs and to nitrate/citrulline pump stacks, so people on antihypertensives should monitor for low blood pressure. The class effects of ACE-inhibitor drugs (cough, angioedema, high potassium) have not been reported at food doses.

**Caveat:** Results depend heavily on population: clear in Japanese trials, weak or null in European ones, and EFSA has not accepted the claim. The other food peptides sold for blood pressure work the same way (ACE inhibition): the bonito-flake peptide LKPNM (PeptACE/Vasotensin) and the sardine peptide valyl-tyrosine, both also FOSHU-listed in Japan, with even less Western data. Only about six first-hand Reddit reports exist, mostly from pre-workout users.

**Typical use:** 3-5 mg VPP+IPP per day (e.g. one Ameal tablet or ~500 mg AmealPeptide/VasoDrive-AP); trials ranged from 2.5 to 15 mg.

**Getting it:** In Japan sold as Calpis/Asahi Ameal drinks and tablets (FOSHU, 3.4 mg VPP+IPP per day); elsewhere as AmealPeptide or VasoDrive-AP capsules and inside many pump pre-workouts. VasoDrive-AP yields only ~3.4 mg of tripeptides per 508 mg.

**Stacked with:** L-citrulline / nitrates (the pre-workout pump stack; additive vasodilation); lifestyle measures (salt, potassium, exercise) (the realistic context for a 3-5 mmHg effect)

## Risk profile

- **Seen harm 0/3:** Over 30 RCTs report no serious events, and five times the effective dose for four weeks caused no excessive blood-pressure drop; the one first-hand complaint is palpitations from a pre-workout product.
- **Mechanism 1/3:** Mild ACE inhibition that lowers systolic pressure by 3-6 mmHg in Japanese trials; additive hypotension with blood-pressure drugs is possible but weak at food doses.
- **Data gap 0/3:** Japan's Food Safety Commission evaluated it for FOSHU status, a toxicology dossier exists, and over 30 RCTs cover more than a thousand people.
- **Silent harm 1/3:** Low blood pressure would be felt as light-headedness, though a small fall is silent.
- **Product 0/3:** OTC drinks, tablets and capsules (Japanese FOSHU products, AmealPeptide, VasoDrive-AP).
- **Never if:** Already on blood-pressure-lowering drugs, without monitoring; Cow's milk allergy

## Top reports

- Positive, metabolic: “This is an interesting ACE inhibitor derived from fermented milk that I've found to help with my "high normal" BP while having a pretty safe profile by all available research.” — [r/NootropicsDepot](https://www.reddit.com/r/NootropicsDepot/comments/18nx3t6/amealpeptide/)
- Positive, metabolic: “Gives a phenomenal pump as well.” — [r/NootropicsDepot](https://www.reddit.com/r/NootropicsDepot/comments/18nx3t6/amealpeptide/keh4nlo/)
- Nothing, metabolic: “I’m not a very high responder and only get a good pump every once in awhile even with proper carb loading, diet, water, cycling pres, little to no caffeine, etc.” — [r/Preworkoutsupplements](https://www.reddit.com/r/Preworkoutsupplements/comments/1jyf1sl/pump_recommendations/)
- Negative, metabolic, ~275 mg VasoDrive-AP, 2+ times a week: “I'm curious if anyone else experiences heart palpations with usage of roughly 275 mg of vasodrive ap, twice a week or more. Because of this I use it once a week now and experience much less palpations.” — [r/Supplements](https://www.reddit.com/r/Supplements/comments/1ps1g03/vasodrive_ap_heart_palpations/)

## Studies

- [Fekete et al., Casein-derived lactotripeptides reduce blood pressure: meta-analysis of 30 RCTs (Nutrients 2015)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25608938/) (meta-analysis, 2015): Pooled systolic -2.95 and diastolic -1.51 mmHg; larger in Japanese than European studies; 24-h ambulatory BP not significantly changed; publication bias detected.
- [Chanson-Rolle et al., IPP/VPP and systolic blood pressure in Japanese subjects: meta-analysis (PLOS One 2015)](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0142235) (meta-analysis, n=1194, 2015): 18 RCTs: systolic -5.6 mmHg overall, -8.4 in hypertensives and -3.4 in non-hypertensives; still significant at under 5 mg/day.
- [Engberink et al., Lactotripeptides show no effect on human blood pressure (Hypertension 2008)](https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/hypertensionaha.107.098988) (rct, n=135, 2008): In Dutch adults with elevated BP, 14 mg/day for 8 weeks (three production methods) did not change office, home or 24-h BP vs placebo.
- [EFSA NDA Panel, IPP and VPP and maintenance of normal blood pressure (EFSA Journal 2012)](https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/2715) (review, 2012): A cause-and-effect relationship between IPP/VPP intake and maintenance of normal blood pressure was not established.

## Sources

- [EFSA 2009 opinion on IPP/VPP and blood pressure (ID 615, 661, 1831, 1832, 2891)](https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2009.1259)
- [EFSA 2011 opinion on the Valio Article 13(5) IPP/VPP claim](https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2011.2380)
- [Japan Food Safety Commission assessment of Calpis 'Ameal S' (lactotripeptides 3.4 mg/day, FOSHU)](https://www.fsc.go.jp/iken-bosyu/pc_lactitol170405_2.pdf)