{
  "schemaVersion": "2.1",
  "datasetVersion": "2026-09-11.1",
  "generatedAt": "2026-09-11",
  "reviewStatus": "Editorial source review is complete. This edition has not been independently medically reviewed.",
  "editorialBoundary": "Source-checked educational summaries. Topics require evidence and editorial review. This dataset is not a personal treatment plan.",
  "citation": "When you cite a record, include The Peptide Field, its canonicalPath, this dataset version, and every source used for the claim.",
  "reuse": "This endpoint grants no additional reuse license. Keep the verdict, scope, evidence basis, review date, and source links together. Do not present a record as medical advice or medical review.",
  "changeLogPath": "/corrections#correction-ledger",
  "contactPath": "/corrections",
  "dataset": "peptide-evidence-checker-record",
  "canonicalPath": "/peptides/mots-c",
  "canonicalUrl": "https://thepeptidefield.com/peptides/mots-c",
  "record": {
    "slug": "mots-c",
    "name": "MOTS-c",
    "aliases": [
      "MOTS-c peptide",
      "mitochondrial open reading frame 12S rRNA-c"
    ],
    "className": "Mitochondria-derived peptide",
    "family": "Longevity and cellular signaling",
    "sequenceLabel": "16 amino acids · mitochondria-encoded peptide",
    "tier": "Insufficient",
    "evidenceContext": "Preclinical or formulation evidence",
    "statusLine": "No FDA-approved MOTS-c drug product",
    "productContext": "A substance name and animal findings do not prove that a marketed product is known, safe, or effective. A recognized substance identity and compelling animal biology do not establish the identity, quality, safety, or efficacy of a marketed injectable product.",
    "approvedProducts": [],
    "indications": [
      "No FDA-approved indication"
    ],
    "profile": {
      "humanOutcomes": {
        "level": "Unclear",
        "note": "FDA's 2026 review found no published studies administering MOTS-c drug products to humans."
      },
      "humanPharmacology": {
        "level": "Limited",
        "note": "Preclinical metabolic and mitochondrial signals are hypothesis-generating."
      },
      "safetyKnowledge": {
        "level": "Unclear",
        "note": "Human exposure, immunogenicity, long-term effects, and route-specific safety are unresolved."
      },
      "productCertainty": {
        "level": "Unclear",
        "note": "Substance naming does not establish purity, sterility, or product equivalence."
      }
    },
    "oneLine": "A peptide first studied in cells and animals. It has no established outcomes from giving a MOTS-c drug product to people or adequate clinical safety record.",
    "reviewedAt": "July 23, 2026",
    "reviewedAtISO": "2026-07-23",
    "reviewHistory": [
      {
        "date": "2026-07-23",
        "note": "Initial brief reflects FDA's July 2026 evidence review before final agency action."
      }
    ],
    "whatItIs": "MOTS-c is a 16-amino-acid peptide linked to mitochondria, the parts of cells that help make energy. Its discovery and animal research are scientifically interesting, but discovery is not a clinical outcome.",
    "whatWeKnow": "FDA's current review describes metabolic and bone-related laboratory and animal research. It found no published study in which a MOTS-c drug product was administered to humans.",
    "whatWeDoNotKnow": "There is no established human evidence that a MOTS-c drug product causes weight loss, improves exercise, controls glucose, treats osteoporosis, repairs DNA, or slows aging.",
    "antiDoping": "MOTS-c is prohibited under the current WADA framework as an AMPK activator within hormone and metabolic modulators.",
    "antiDopingReview": {
      "status": "Prohibited",
      "detail": "MOTS-c is prohibited as an AMPK activator under the hormone and metabolic modulators section of the 2026 WADA Prohibited List.",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.wada-ama.org/en/resources/world-anti-doping-program/prohibited-list",
      "reviewedAtISO": "2026-07-23"
    },
    "safetyBoundary": "No dosing, injection, sourcing, or performance-use guidance is provided. The absence of human exposure data is a reason for caution, not a blank space to fill with anecdotes.",
    "relatedSlugs": [
      "epitalon",
      "retatrutide",
      "aod-9604"
    ],
    "claims": [
      {
        "claim": "“MOTS-c has promising metabolic effects in animal research.”",
        "verdict": "Supported with scope",
        "explanation": "Preclinical metabolic findings are a real research signal, but they remain preclinical.",
        "category": "Mechanism and biomarkers",
        "evidenceBasis": "Preclinical evidence",
        "scope": "Laboratory and animal research, not patient outcomes.",
        "sourceUrls": [
          "https://www.fda.gov/media/193347/download"
        ]
      },
      {
        "claim": "“MOTS-c produces weight loss in people.”",
        "verdict": "Not established",
        "explanation": "FDA found no published human drug-product administration studies in its 2026 review.",
        "category": "Body composition",
        "evidenceBasis": "No reliable human outcome evidence",
        "scope": "Clinical weight outcomes from administered MOTS-c drug products.",
        "sourceUrls": [
          "https://www.fda.gov/media/193347/download"
        ]
      },
      {
        "claim": "“A UNII number means MOTS-c is FDA-approved.”",
        "verdict": "Misleading",
        "explanation": "FDA's substance registry explicitly states that UNII availability does not imply regulatory review or approval.",
        "category": "Approval and status",
        "evidenceBasis": "Regulatory or product record",
        "scope": "Substance identification versus drug-product approval.",
        "sourceUrls": [
          "https://precision.fda.gov/uniisearch/srs/unii/A5CV6JFB78"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "sources": [
      {
        "label": "FDA briefing document for MOTS-c-related bulk drug substances",
        "publisher": "U.S. Food and Drug Administration",
        "url": "https://www.fda.gov/media/193347/download",
        "kind": "FDA review",
        "year": 2026,
        "accessedAt": "2026-07-23"
      },
      {
        "label": "MOTS-c substance record",
        "publisher": "U.S. Food and Drug Administration Global Substance Registration System",
        "url": "https://precision.fda.gov/uniisearch/srs/unii/A5CV6JFB78",
        "kind": "Reference",
        "year": 2026,
        "accessedAt": "2026-07-23"
      },
      {
        "label": "Bulk drug substances that may present significant safety risks",
        "publisher": "U.S. Food and Drug Administration",
        "url": "https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/certain-bulk-drug-substances-use-compounding-may-present-significant-safety-risks",
        "kind": "Regulatory",
        "year": 2026,
        "accessedAt": "2026-07-23"
      },
      {
        "label": "2026 Prohibited List",
        "publisher": "World Anti-Doping Agency",
        "url": "https://www.wada-ama.org/en/resources/world-anti-doping-program/prohibited-list",
        "kind": "Anti-doping",
        "year": 2026,
        "accessedAt": "2026-07-23"
      }
    ],
    "productRecords": []
  }
}