Anti-aging & longevity
MOTS-c
Also written: Mitochondrial-derived peptide · MOTS-c peptide
A mitochondrial-derived peptide with a genuinely interesting origin story and the same supply questions as everything else here.
MOTS-c is a peptide encoded in mitochondrial DNA rather than in the cell nucleus — an unusual origin that is the reason it gets discussed as a distinct class of molecule. That is a real and interesting fact about where it comes from. It is not, on its own, a fact about what it does, and the two get run together constantly.
What the format changes
Supplied lyophilized and reconstituted before use, like most of the vials in this category. The handling and documentation questions are the standard ones, and the interesting biology does not change them: a fascinating origin does not exempt a material from needing a certificate.
What to ask before ordering
The same four questions that apply to everything here: what it is, where it was made and to what standard, what the lot's certificate shows, and what the label states as intended use. A supplier who leads with the mitochondrial origin story and cannot produce the certificate has answered the wrong question.
What we are not claiming
Anything about metabolism, ageing, performance, or any outcome. Where the science is genuinely interesting, it is genuinely Dr. Schuster's subject, and his field guide is linked above. This page stays on the narrow ground a supplier can actually stand on.
Questions we get about MOTS-c
- What makes MOTS-c unusual?
- It is encoded in mitochondrial DNA rather than the cell nucleus, which is why it is described as a mitochondrial-derived peptide. That is a fact about its origin, not its effect.
- Is MOTS-c FDA approved?
- No. It is not an approved drug product. A supplier can document what the material is and what testing the lot passed.
- What should I ask a supplier about MOTS-c?
- What it is, where and to what standard it was made, what the certificate of analysis for the lot shows, and what the label states as intended use.
Read next from the library
- What a peptide actually isNot a drug class, not a supplement, not a hormone. A length. Once that lands, most of the confusion in this category goes away.
- "Is it FDA approved?" is usually the wrong questionNot because the answer is uncomfortable, but because approval, registration, clearance and certification are four different things — and only one of them is usually on offer.
- How to read a certificate of analysisThe document that separates a supply chain you can defend from one you are trusting. Six fields, and one question that matters more than the rest.