Cheat sheet
Status: Not FDA-approved
Reviewed
MOTS-c
A mitochondrial-encoded peptide. The interesting claim is pathway overlap with exercise, not a replacement for it.
The evidence rail
How to read this- Mechanistic: reached
- Cell research: reached
- Animal research: reached
- Human observational: reached, limited data
- Human clinical trial: not reached
- Established clinical use: not reached
- Evidence
- Early human dataRung 4 of 6, limited data. People were observed, surveyed, or followed, or given the peptide in a small study with no comparison group. Useful for patterns, silent on cause.
- Status
- Not FDA-approvedNot approved for use as a drug. Often sold as a research chemical.
- Topics
- MetabolismLongevity
What has it been studied for?
- Metabolic signaling, including AMPK-related pathways
- Exercise-adjacent biology in early work
What we know
- The analogy to exercise is specific enough to be useful, and easy to overclaim
What we don’t
- Whether that analogy survives larger human studies
Bottom line
Shares a pathway with exercise. Does not replace it.
Education only. Not medical advice. Not a protocol.
New sheets, the day they publish.
One email a week. The study type named, every time.