MOTS-c

Mechanism

Associated with AMPK activation and improved metabolic flexibility.

Reported effects

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

• Fat oxidation
• Training tolerance
• Metabolic flexibility

Reconstitution

mass ÷ diluent = concentration; dose ÷ concentration = volume; volume × the syringe factor = units on the barrel (100 for U-100, 40 for U-40). Run your own numbers.

Half-life, storage & sport

Elimination half-life

not on file — no primary pharmacokinetic study found.

Storage

Lyophilised: Stable at room temperature ~3 weeks; store desiccated below -18C. Reconstituted: 4C for 2-7 days; below -18C for future use; 0.1% HSA/BSA for long term; avoid freeze-thaw. — source. ProSpec technical datasheet. Supplier handling recommendation for research-grade lyophilate, not a per-compound stability study.

In sport (WADA 2026)

Prohibited, at all times — named S4.4.1 (AMPK activators). the list Listed by its full name, mitochondrial open reading frame of the 12S rRNA-c. Note it sits in S4, not S2.

No half-life is on file for this compound, and the figures circulating in its place do not agree with each other. 7 separate accounts are recorded on this page, read from 8 pages between them: 1 to 2 hours, under 30 minutes, 30 to 60 minutes, 2 to 4 hours, 4 to 6 hours, approximately 12 hours and 4 to 5 days. They run from 30 min to 5 d, a factor of 240. No curve is drawn below, because drawing one would mean choosing a winner among them and publishing that choice as though something had measured it. Read what each one says, and where it was read from.

Reported adverse effects

No controlled human safety data exists.

Literature on file 7

• review or editorial
  MOTS-c: A promising mitochondrial-derived peptide for therapeutic exploitation (2023, cited 38x) graded on: indexed as "review-article" - secondary literature, not a study — “review-article”
• review or editorial
  MOTS-c: How a secreted mitochondrial microprotein may become a potential treatment for inflammatory lung diseases. graded on: indexed as "Review" - secondary literature, not a study — “Review”
• animal in vivo
  MOTS-c partially protects against skeletal muscle deterioration in C26 cachexia. graded on: C26 cachexia mouse model, MOTS-c 15 mg/kg i.p. twice daily, with a myotube arm — read from the abstract — “abstract review”
• animal in vivo
  Mitochondrial-derived peptide MOTS-c activates metabolic signaling but blunts reparative function in human mesenchymal stromal cells. graded on: an animal model — read from the indexed abstract — “mouse”
• animal in vivo
  Mitochondrial peptide MOTS-c suppresses systemic and cardiac inflammasome activation in a diabetic rat model. graded on: an animal model — “rat”
• animal in vivo
  LAT1-mediated delivery of engineered R13A-MOTS-c attenuates radiation-induced lung injury via Nrf2 activation and mitochondrial protection. graded on: an animal model — read from the indexed abstract — “mice”

Not graded

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

• not graded
  NCT07505745: A Phase 2a, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study to Evaluate the Efficacy, Safety, and Pharmacodynamics of MOTS-c (a Mitochondrial-Derived Peptide) in Adults With Prediabetes and Overweight/Obesity graded on: NCT07505745 is recruiting and has posted no results - a registration, not a reported outcome — “NCT07505745”

What is circulated not evidence 13

Claims passed around in community guides and vendor copy, recorded because they circulate — not because they are true. Each is shown with the page it was read from and what this record actually holds. Checked 2026-08-26.

• unverified community data dose ubiquitous contradicts the record

  5 to 10 mg a week split across two or three subcutaneous injections is the figure most dosing guides give, with per-injection amounts of 2.5 to 10 mg.

  10 mg

  On the record The record holds 5-10 mg per administration, two to three times weekly, and marks it unverified. Read literally that is 10 to 30 mg a week — the same numbers arranged to mean something two to three times larger than the guides' weekly totals. The ambiguity is in the record, not only in the community.

  Source 1 · Source 2

• unverified community data titration common nothing on file either way

  One widely read chart escalates to 10 mg five times a week, roughly 50 mg per cycle total, after a two-week titration from 2.5 mg three times weekly.

  30 to 60 minutes before exercise

  On the record The record holds no titration and no frequency above three times weekly. Five injections a week at the top of the on-file per-dose range is 50 mg a week, five times the highest weekly figure any guide gives, and nothing on file bounds it.

  Source 1

• unverified community data timing common nothing on file either way

  Injecting thirty to sixty minutes before exercise is standard advice, on the grounds that MOTS-c acts as an exercise mimetic through AMPK.

  30 to 60 minutes before exercise

  On the record Nothing on file records any timing guidance. The record lists fat oxidation, training tolerance and metabolic flexibility as benefits but holds no half-life at all. A thirty-to-sixty-minute pre-dose window is a pharmacokinetic claim made against an empty pharmacokinetic record.

  Source 1 · Source 2

• unverified community data titration common agrees with the record

  Eight to twelve weeks on with a four to six week break is the cycle given, with guides conceding the break is not confirmed in human research.

  8 to 12 weeks on, followed by a 4 to 6 week break

  On the record The record holds a cycle of 8 to 12 weeks, matching exactly. The washout period is not on file.

  Source 1

• unverified community data sourcing occasional nothing on file either way

  The human evidence cited in guides is a single intravenous dose study in twelve older adults reporting a 15 per cent improvement in insulin-stimulated glucose disposal, which the same guides note does not transfer to subcutaneous self-injection.

  15% improvement in insulin-stimulated glucose disposal

  On the record The record grades MOTS-c at the animal rung and cites NCT07505745, a phase 2 study recruiting since 2026-02-02 with 120 estimated participants and no results. The twelve-person intravenous study the community cites is not in the record, and neither is any route comparison.

  Source 1

• unverified community data side effect occasional nothing on file either way

  Hypoglycaemia risk, particularly alongside other glucose-lowering agents, is named as a caution.

  8 to 12 weeks on, followed by a 4 to 6 week break

  On the record The record holds one side-effect row: 'No controlled human safety data exists'. No hypoglycaemia caution and no interaction note is on file.

  Source 1

• unverified community data half life common nothing on file either way

  A plasma half-life of one to two hours is stated, and is the most repeated figure of the several that circulate.

  t1/2 = ~1-2 hours (exogenous plasma); ~12-15 hours (endogenous circulating)

  On the record No half-life for MOTS-c is on file, in any species, by any route. No primary study has measured one: the papers that dose the peptide never sample it afterwards, and the papers that measure it in blood are reading what the body already made. The FDA has stated it has identified no human exposure data for MOTS-c by any route. This figure is an inference and its own origin says so: an Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation report reasons it from an exercise study in which naturally occurring MOTS-c rose during exercise and was back to baseline four hours later, and calls it suggestive. A time course of what the body makes is not the elimination half-life of an injected dose, and the review it cites for the point states no half-life at all.

  Source 1 · Source 2 · Source 3

• unverified community data half life occasional nothing on file either way

  The circulating half-life is stated as under thirty minutes, with downstream metabolic effects said to persist for twenty-four to forty-eight hours.

  MOTS-c's half-life in circulation is short (under 30 minutes), but its downstream metabolic effects persist for 24-48 hours post-injection due to AMPK activation.

  On the record No half-life for MOTS-c is on file, in any species, by any route. No primary study has measured one: the papers that dose the peptide never sample it afterwards, and the papers that measure it in blood are reading what the body already made. The FDA has stated it has identified no human exposure data for MOTS-c by any route. The page separates the two quantities correctly, which most do not: the twenty-four to forty-eight hours is how long an effect is said to last, and it is not a half-life. Neither number is on file.

  Source 1

• unverified community data half life occasional nothing on file either way

  A half-life of roughly thirty to sixty minutes is estimated.

  The peptide's half-life in circulation is short, estimated at roughly 30 to 60 minutes

  On the record No half-life for MOTS-c is on file, in any species, by any route. No primary study has measured one: the papers that dose the peptide never sample it afterwards, and the papers that measure it in blood are reading what the body already made. The FDA has stated it has identified no human exposure data for MOTS-c by any route. The same publisher's other guide to this compound gives no figure at all.

  Source 1

• unverified community data half life occasional nothing on file either way

  A circulating half-life of approximately two to four hours is stated.

  MOTS-c has a circulating half-life of approximately 2 to 4 hours.

  On the record No half-life for MOTS-c is on file, in any species, by any route. No primary study has measured one: the papers that dose the peptide never sample it afterwards, and the papers that measure it in blood are reading what the body already made. The FDA has stated it has identified no human exposure data for MOTS-c by any route. This figure is a minority position among the pages that state one, and no page carrying it names a source.

  Source 1

• unverified community data half life isolated nothing on file either way

  A half-life of four to six hours is stated, and used to argue that large infrequent doses produce a spike-and-crash pattern.

  Because of its relatively short half-life (estimated 4-6 hours), large infrequent doses create a spike-and-crash pattern in AMPK activation.

  On the record No half-life for MOTS-c is on file, in any species, by any route. No primary study has measured one: the papers that dose the peptide never sample it afterwards, and the papers that measure it in blood are reading what the body already made. The FDA has stated it has identified no human exposure data for MOTS-c by any route. A dosing argument is built on this figure, which is what makes it worth recording: the reasoning is sound and the number underneath it was never measured.

  Source 1

• unverified community data half life isolated nothing on file either way

  A half-life of approximately twelve hours is stated, on a page that also recommends once-weekly injection.

  With an estimated half-life of approximately 12 hours, MOTS-c is cleared relatively quickly.

  On the record No half-life for MOTS-c is on file, in any species, by any route. No primary study has measured one: the papers that dose the peptide never sample it afterwards, and the papers that measure it in blood are reading what the body already made. The FDA has stated it has identified no human exposure data for MOTS-c by any route. The figure and the schedule beside it do not fit together: at twelve hours, a week is about fourteen half-lives, and nothing of a dose would remain when the next is given. One of the two is wrong and the page does not say which.

  Source 1

• unverified community data half life isolated nothing on file either way

  A half-life of four to five days is stated, attributed to rodent plasma data, and used to justify twice-weekly dosing.

  Rodent plasma data indicate a 4 to 5 day half-life, with twice-weekly dosing reaching steady state

  On the record No half-life for MOTS-c is on file, in any species, by any route. No primary study has measured one: the papers that dose the peptide never sample it afterwards, and the papers that measure it in blood are reading what the body already made. The FDA has stated it has identified no human exposure data for MOTS-c by any route. This is the longest figure in circulation and it appears on the same page as the shortest one that page gives, one to two hours, both attributed to rodent plasma data. It most likely belongs to a different molecule: CB4211 is an engineered MOTS-c analogue that was modified specifically to lengthen its half-life enough for twice-weekly injection, and the comparison its developer draws implies the unmodified peptide needs dosing daily or more often. One other page argues the opposite of every figure here, that the half-life is relatively long and daily dosing is therefore unnecessary.

  Source 1

Identity

PubChem CID 146675088 computed 3D conformer

Skeletal formulathe canonical depiction

Drawn by PubChem from CID 146675088, the identifier on this record.

Molecular weight

2174.6

Molecular formula

C101H152N28O22S2

CAS number

1627580-64-6

PubChem CID

146675088

InChI key

WYTHCOXVWRKRAH-LOKRTKBUSA-N

Sequence

MRWQEMGYIFYPRKLR

SMILES

CC[C@H](C)[C@@H](C(=O)N[C@@H](CC1=CC=CC=C1)C(=O)N[C@@H](CC2=CC=C(C=C2)O)C(=O)N3CCC[C@H]3C(=O)N[C@@H](CCCNC(=N)N)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCCCN)C(=O)N[C@@H](CC(C)C)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCCNC(=N)N)C(=O)O)NC(=O)[C@H](CC4=CC=C(C=C4)O)NC(=O)CNC(=O)[C@H](CCSC)NC(=O)[C@H](CCC(=O)O)NC(=O)[C@H](CCC(=O)N)NC(=O)[C@H](CC5=CNC6=CC=CC=C65)NC(=O)[C@H](CCCNC(=N)N)NC(=O)[C@H](CCSC)N

InChI

InChI=1S/C101H152N28O22S2/c1-7-57(4)83(96(148)126-76(50-58-19-9-8-10-20-58)92(144)127-78(52-60-30-34-63(131)35-31-60)97(149)129-46-18-27-79(129)95(147)122-69(25-16-44-112-100(107)108)86(138)118-67(23-13-14-42-102)87(139)124-74(49-56(2)3)91(143)123-73(98(150)151)26-17-45-113-101(109)110)128-94(146)75(51-59-28-32-62(130)33-29-59)116-81(133)55-115-85(137)72(41-48-153-6)121-90(142)71(37-39-82(134)135)119-89(141)70(36-38-80(104)132)120-93(145)77(53-61-54-114-66-22-12-11-21-64(61)66)125-88(140)68(24-15-43-111-99(105)106)117-84(136)65(103)40-47-152-5/h8-12,19-22,28-35,54,56-57,65,67-79,83,114,130-131H,7,13-18,23-27,36-53,55,102-103H2,1-6H3,(H2,104,132)(H,115,137)(H,116,133)(H,117,136)(H,118,138)(H,119,141)(H,120,145)(H,121,142)(H,122,147)(H,123,143)(H,124,139)(H,125,140)(H,126,148)(H,127,144)(H,128,146)(H,134,135)(H,150,151)(H4,105,106,111)(H4,107,108,112)(H4,109,110,113)/t57-,65-,67-,68-,69-,70-,71-,72-,73-,74-,75-,76-,77-,78-,79-,83-/m0/s1

Classified as

AMPK Signalingmechanism

AMPK appears on records from metabolic to longevity because it is a hub rather than a specific target. That breadth is a reason to read the individual claim and its rung rather than the pathway name.

Mitochondrial Functionpathway

The phrase appears in a great deal of product copy but is measured very differently across studies, from oxygen consumption in cultured cells to exercise capacity in a person, and the rung a claim earns usually depends on which was actually done.

Subcutaneousroute

This is the route the reconstitution arithmetic assumes. Mass divided by diluent volume gives concentration, dose divided by concentration gives volume, and volume in mL multiplied by 100 gives units on a U-100 barrel: 5 mg in 2 mL is 2.5 mg/mL, and 0.25 mg comes out at 0.1 mL, which is 10 units.

Also called

• MOTS-c
• MOTS-c (Longevity)

Listed prices 388

What 208 shops we track listed for MOTS-c, read from their own public catalogues on 2026-09-14. We take no commission on these and they are not ranked by any payment — how vendors are scored.

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