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Independent evidence before payment.
Mitochondrial-derived peptide
MOTS-c carries an Evidence Grade of F (Low confidence). The strongest published evidence catalogued is in-vitro.
Grade F rule: In-vitro / mechanistic only, or none.
The grade reflects the strength of the published evidence, not safety or efficacy. “Confidence” means how settled that grade is given the record — not how likely the compound is to work.
Human-use stop
This compound is investigational, warned or not approved for human use. A seller calling it “research only,” showing testimonials, registering a company or publishing a COA does not create an approved consumer medicine. Seller links below are market-surveillance records, not recommendations.
MOTS-c is a mitochondrial-derived peptide studied preclinically for metabolic regulation and exercise physiology.
Animal and in-vitro results are shown separately and must never be read as established human outcomes.
In plain terms: this is lab-bench work only — 12 studies in cells or proposed mechanisms, with no animal or human trials. That is the weakest tier of evidence there is.
Strongest: randomised or pooled human trials.
none catalogued
Observational, open-label or small human studies.
none catalogued
Preclinical animal models — not a human outcome.
none catalogued
Cell / tissue studies — not a human outcome.
MOTS-c promotes muscle differentiation in vitro. Peptides, 2022.
Proposed mechanism — hypothesis, not evidence of effect.
MOTS-c attenuates mitochondrial dysfunction induces pyroptosis and cartilage degradation in osteoarthritis via an Nrf2-Dependent Mechanism. Free radical biology & medicine, 2025.
MOTS-c: Magical Molecule for Diabetic Cardiomyopathy?. Cardiovascular drugs and therapy, 2025.
MOTS-c attenuates lung ischemia-reperfusion injury via MYH9-Dependent nuclear translocation and transcriptional activation of antioxidant genes. Redox biology, 2025.
MOTS-c modulates skeletal muscle function by directly binding and activating CK2. iScience, 2024.
Mitochondrial-Derived Peptide MOTS-c Suppresses Ovarian Cancer Progression by Attenuating USP7-Mediated LARS1 Deubiquitination. Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany), 2024.
MOTS-c Functionally Prevents Metabolic Disorders. Metabolites, 2023.
MOTS-c: A promising mitochondrial-derived peptide for therapeutic exploitation. Frontiers in endocrinology, 2023.
The mitochondrial-derived peptide MOTS-c relieves hyperglycemia and insulin resistance in gestational diabetes mellitus. Pharmacological research, 2022.
MOTS-c: A Mitochondrial-Encoded Regulator of the Nucleus. BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology, 2019.
The Mitochondrial-Encoded Peptide MOTS-c Translocates to the Nucleus to Regulate Nuclear Gene Expression in Response to Metabolic Stress. Cell metabolism, 2018.
The mitochondrial-derived peptide MOTS-c promotes metabolic homeostasis and reduces obesity and insulin resistance. Cell metabolism, 2015.
On “cited by N”: citation counts (Crossref) reflect how often a paper has been referenced — a measure of academic attention, not of validity, safety, or whether a compound works. They do not affect the Evidence Grade, which is set purely by the strength of the evidence tier.
Human evidence is minimal. Findings are largely animal and mechanistic and should not be read as human outcomes.
Not an approved medicine in major markets. Sold only as a “research chemical”, with no established safe consumer use, dose or supply standard.
PepCred flags any vendor selling this compound to the public as a consumer-protection concern. Status reflects regulator records; see the regulatory detail below.
Registered studies:
No FDA-approved (US) drug labelling found for this compound. A search of openFDA returned no approved product containing it as an active ingredient.
This reflects US FDA approval only — other regulators (e.g. MHRA, EMA) may differ; see the note below. Absence of an approved label is not, by itself, a safety finding, and a “research use only” label does not establish safety, legality or correct identity.
PepCred note: Not approved for human use.
These unranked records show where the name was detected. For an investigational, warned or unapproved compound, no seller, company registration, review score or COA creates an approved human-use route.
None of these is verified for human use.