MOTS-c
Mitochondrial open reading frame of the 12S rRNA type-c
A sixteen amino acid peptide encoded inside mitochondrial RNA, injected for metabolism.
MOTS-c was described in 2015 and is sold for weight loss, glucose control and physical performance. The mouse work is real and interesting: it suppressed diet induced obesity and insulin resistance. What does not exist is any study of it in a person. One laboratory finding goes to the heart of the injection being sold, since MOTS-c is broken apart in human blood within an hour.
Where it stands, jurisdiction by jurisdiction
United States
Unregulated, unregulated, sold anywayDecided on: Precaution, Contested
Not a lawful dietary ingredient and not on the 503A list. Nominated as a 5 or 10 milligram injection for insulin resistance, obesity, osteoporosis, vascular calcification, fat metabolism and longevity. FDA found no human study, no adverse event report and no pharmacy compounding it. It also found that MOTS-c incubated in human whole blood is hydrolysed into shorter peptides within fifteen to sixty minutes, leaving it unclear whether an injection could reach an active concentration at all. Banned in sport as a hormone and metabolic modulator. The advisory committee recommended adding it 7 to 5 with two abstentions on 23 July 2026, and it remains off the list.
Regulatory positions change, sometimes quickly. Check the date on a source before relying on it.