Is MOTS-c safe?
No human safety data
CAnimal and cell studiesNot approvedas of 2026-10-26
There are no human safety data for MOTS-c given as a drug. In mice, the published studies report no toxicity. But they were studies of whether it works, not safety studies. The FDA earlier placed it in Category 2. It cited the lack of human data and poor description of the products sold. Public Citizen testified against listing it for compounding at the July 2026 advisory committee meeting. It gave the same grounds. 4
Athletes should know that MOTS-c is named on the 2026 WADA Prohibited List under metabolic modulators. It has produced positive doping tests. 5
More on MOTS-c
Citations
- Front Endocrinol 2023: Review of MOTS-c in metabolism and disease doi.org
- Biochim Biophys Acta 2021: Mitochondrial-derived peptides and exercise doi.org
- Lee 2015, Cell Metab: The mitochondrial-derived peptide MOTS-c promotes metabolic homeostasis and reduces obesity and insulin resistance pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- FDA: Certain bulk drug substances for use in compounding may present significant safety risks fda.gov
- WADA: 2026 Prohibited List wada-ama.org
- Reynolds 2021, Nat Commun: MOTS-c is an exercise-induced mitochondrial-encoded regulator of age-dependent physical decline pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Miller 2022, J Clin Invest: Mitochondria-derived peptides in aging and healthspan pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Reference information only, not medical advice. Drawn from the MOTS-c article, fact-checked against the cited sources. No dosing anywhere on this site.