MOTS-c
An 'exercise-mimetic' in mouse studies. Human research is at a very early stage.
MOTS-c was discovered in 2015 by researchers at the University of Southern California. It is encoded by mitochondrial DNA rather than the cell nucleus.
What the research shows
- In mice, MOTS-c improved insulin sensitivity and physical performance.
- Levels in human blood appear to rise with exercise and fall with age.
- Only early-phase human testing of a related analog has been reported.
Doses used in research
No human dose has been established. This compound hasn't been through published human dosing trials, so any dose you see online comes from anecdote, not research.
Key sources
- Lee et al., Cell Metabolism 2015
- Reynolds et al., Nature Communications 2021
Last reviewed: November 2026
This page reports what published research and official labels describe. It isn't a recommendation to use any compound. Decisions about any compound should be made with a licensed clinician.