Gastrointestinal Health

Motilin

Between meals the empty gut runs a housekeeping cycle, a slow wave of contractions that sweeps out what digestion left behind, and motilin is the hormone that starts it. That makes it an obvious drug target: switch the cycle on deliberately and you have a treatment for a stomach that will not empty, which is the line the prokinetic literature on file is pursuing. Motilin itself remains a research tool. The human records here measure blood levels — one compared 68 infants with and without colic — or infuse the hormone to study physiology, and half the references on file carry no evidence grade at all.

Last updated 12 August 2026

Studied forGastric motility research · Prokinetic target context · Interdigestive cycle physiology

Evidence on file2 human observational studies · 1 animal study · 1 citation not yet graded

Strongest sourceClinical Efficacy and Safety of Shenqu Xiaoshi Oral Liquid for Functional Constipation in Children: A Systema… (human observational study)

Mechanism

Activates the G-protein-coupled motilin receptor on enteric neurons and smooth muscle, triggering vagally dependent gastric phase III contractions.

Reported effects

What sources associate with this compound. Reported categories, not outcomes we have graded — each would need its own citation and rung.

Gastric motility research
Prokinetic target context
Interdigestive cycle physiology

Dosing on file unverified

0.5-4 pmol/kg/min IV infusion; 0.34-0.68 pmol/kg/min; 0.6-2.4 pmol/kg/min

Carried from a source that labels it unverified, and reproduced with that label attached. A record of what is reported, not a recommendation. No citation on this page establishes it.

Literature on file 6

review or editorial
Motilin in amphibians. graded on: indexed as "Review" - secondary literature, not a study — “Review”
human observational
Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Shenqu Xiaoshi Oral Liquid for Functional Constipation in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. graded on: a synthesis of human studies — “Systematic Review”
review or editorial
Evolving prokinetic therapy: New targets and therapeutic opportunities in gastrointestinal motility disorders. graded on: indexed as "review-article" - secondary literature, not a study — “review-article”
human observational
Serum Ghrelin, Motilin, and Beta-Endorphin Levels in Infants With Colic and Healthy Infants in Lebanon. graded on: 68 term infants, colicky vs non-colicky, serum hormone comparison — read from the abstract — “abstract review”
animal in vivo
Evaluation of motilin, ghrelin, and gastrin as potential biomarkers of Type I abomasal ulcers in fattening young bulls. graded on: an animal model — read from the indexed abstract — “cattle”

Not graded

1 citation whose study design could not be read from the title. Left ungraded rather than guessed at.

not graded
Motilin (2006, cited 1x)

Identity

Space-filling 3D model of Motilin, carbon grey, nitrogen blue, oxygen red — Built from the SMILES on this record — the atoms and bonds are exact. The shape is **one computed low-energy pose**, not a measured structure: a flexible peptide in solution has no single conformation, and where the SMILES leaves a stereocentre undefined the pose commits to one arbitrarily. The skeletal formula below claims connectivity and nothing more, which is what we actually know.

2D chemical structure of Motilin — Built from the SMILES on this record — the atoms and bonds are exact. The shape is **one computed low-energy pose**, not a measured structure: a flexible peptide in solution has no single conformation, and where the SMILES leaves a stereocentre undefined the pose commits to one arbitrarily. The skeletal formula below claims connectivity and nothing more, which is what we actually know.

Molecular weight: 2699.1
Molecular formula: C120H188N34O35S
CAS number: 52906-92-0
PubChem CID: 16136567
UniProt: P12872 (precursor)
InChI key: LVRVABPNVHYXRT-BQWXUCBYSA-N
SMILES: CC[C@H](C)[C@@H](C(=O)N[C@@H](CC1=CC=CC=C1)C(=O)N[C@@H]([C@@H](C)O)C(=O)N[C@@H](CC2=CC=C(C=C2)O)C(=O)NCC(=O)N[C@@H](CCC(=O)O)C(=O)N[C@@H](CC(C)C)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCC(=O)N)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCCNC(=N)N)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCSC)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCC(=O)N)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCC(=O)O)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCCCN)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCC(=O)O)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCCNC(=N)N)C(=O)N[C@@H](CC(=O)N)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCCCN)C(=O)NCC(=O)N[C@@H](CCC(=O)N)C(=O)O)NC(=O)[C@@H]3CCCN3C(=O)[C@H](C(C)C)NC(=O)[C@H](CC4=CC=CC=C4)N
InChI: InChI=1S/C120H188N34O35S/c1-9-64(6)97(152-114(184)86-31-22-53-154(86)117(187)96(63(4)5)151-99(169)70(123)56-66-23-12-10-13-24-66)115(185)150-84(57-67-25-14-11-15-26-67)113(183)153-98(65(7)155)116(186)149-83(58-68-32-34-69(156)35-33-68)101(171)135-60-91(161)136-75(39-45-93(163)164)105(175)147-82(55-62(2)3)111(181)145-77(37-43-88(125)158)106(176)140-73(29-20-51-132-119(128)129)103(173)146-80(48-54-190-8)110(180)142-76(36-42-87(124)157)107(177)144-79(41-47-95(167)168)108(178)139-72(28-17-19-50-122)102(172)143-78(40-46-94(165)166)109(179)141-74(30-21-52-133-120(130)131)104(174)148-85(59-90(127)160)112(182)138-71(27-16-18-49-121)100(170)134-61-92(162)137-81(118(188)189)38-44-89(126)159/h10-15,23-26,32-35,62-65,70-86,96-98,155-156H,9,16-22,27-31,36-61,121-123H2,1-8H3,(H2,124,157)(H2,125,158)(H2,126,159)(H2,127,160)(H,134,170)(H,135,171)(H,136,161)(H,137,162)(H,138,182)(H,139,178)(H,140,176)(H,141,179)(H,142,180)(H,143,172)(H,144,177)(H,145,181)(H,146,173)(H,147,175)(H,148,174)(H,149,186)(H,150,185)(H,151,169)(H,152,184)(H,153,183)(H,163,164)(H,165,166)(H,167,168)(H,188,189)(H4,128,129,132)(H4,130,131,133)/t64-,65+,70-,71-,72-,73-,74-,75-,76-,77-,78-,79-,80-,81-,82-,83-,84-,85-,86-,96-,97-,98-/m0/s1

Notes unverified prose

Human infusion studies; dose-related GI motility effects; Human IV infusion studies

Not on file 2

1 of the 8 fields we track hold nothing on this record, and each says why. 1 further absence is named below. A blank field is a bug; a named absence is a finding.

amino-acid sequencenothing we hold supplies it
half-lifenothing we hold supplies it

Each field links to every other record missing the same thing. The full ledger holds 765 gaps across 163 records.