Category · 19 compounds
Longevity & mitochondrial
The anti-aging and mitochondrial peptides — Epitalon, MOTS-c, SS-31 — the biggest claims in this reference, sitting on its thinnest human evidence.
- AICAR
AICAR is a nucleoside AMPK activator, not a peptide. See the mouse endurance result, failed human cardiac trial, safety gaps, and 2026 status.
- Cortagen
Cortagen is an AEDP tetrapeptide with animal nerve-regeneration data, no controlled human trial, and no FDA approval. See the evidence and risks.
- Epitalon
Epitalon is a synthetic pineal tetrapeptide studied mostly in cells and mice for telomeres and aging — what it is, the evidence, and the honest risks.
- FOXO4-DRI
FOXO4-DRI is a senolytic peptide studied in mice and human cells to clear senescent 'zombie' cells — what it is, the real evidence, and the honest risks.
- GDF-11
GDF-11 is the 'young blood' protein studied in mice for reversing aging — what it is, why the results are hotly contested, and the honest human risks.
- Humanin
Humanin is a 24-amino-acid mitochondrial-derived peptide studied in cells and animals for brain and metabolic protection — the evidence and the honest risks.
- Klotho
Klotho is a large human protein, not an injectable peptide. See the observational evidence, offshore gene-therapy trials, supplement claims, and risks.
- Livagen
The livagen peptide is KEDA, a synthetic bioregulator studied in cultured cells—not a proven liver treatment. See the evidence, risks, and 2026 status.
- MOTS-c
MOTS-c for energy has strong mouse data but no completed human trial yet. The doses people actually run, honest side effects, and 2026 legal status.
- NAD+
The nad peptide is actually NAD+, a coenzyme. See what human trials show, how injections differ from precursors, and the 2026 safety reality.
- Pancragen
Pancragen is a KEDW pancreas bioregulator with thin human evidence, animal glucose findings, no FDA approval, and no established human dosage.
- Pinealon
Pinealon is an EDR tripeptide with cell and animal research, no validated human benefit, and major safety unknowns. See the evidence and risks.
- SLU-PP-332
SLU-PP-332 is a small-molecule exercise mimetic tested in mice, not a peptide or human-ready drug. See the evidence, unknowns, and 2026 status.
- SS-20
SS-20 is a mitochondrial peptide with animal-only evidence, no approved human use, and a mechanism that changed how researchers read SS-31 (elamipretide).
- SS-31 (elamipretide)
SS-31 (elamipretide) is a mitochondria-targeting peptide, now FDA-approved as Forzinity for a rare disease — what it is, the aging evidence, and honest risks.
- Thymalin
Thymalin is a thymus-derived peptide studied in Russia for immune restoration and healthy aging — what it is, what the human evidence shows, and the risks.
- Thymosin Alpha-1
Thymosin alpha-1 (thymalfasin/Zadaxin) is a thymic immune peptide with real human trials — what it is, how it tunes immunity, and the honest risks.
- Vesugen
The vesugen peptide is KED (Lys-Glu-Asp), a vascular bioregulator with cell studies, weak human reports, no FDA approval, and major safety gaps.
- Vilon
Vilon is the Lys-Glu bioregulator studied mainly in cells and animals, with limited Russian clinical reports. See the evidence, risks, andundefinedstatus.
If you’re chasing better biomarkers, steadier energy, and a few more good decades, you’ve probably run into the longevity peptides on a podcast or a biohacking forum, filed under “reverse aging” or “mitochondrial reset.”
Longevity and mitochondrial peptides are compounds studied for slowing the machinery of aging: the mitochondria that power your cells, the telomere caps on your chromosomes, and the fuel-sensing switches that decide whether you burn energy or store it. They carry the biggest claims in this whole reference, and, with one real exception, some of its thinnest human proof.
What people actually chase in the longevity peptides
Ask around the longevity forums and the goals rhyme: not living to 200, but feeling 35 at 55. People run these peptides for steadier daily energy, faster recovery, better sleep, and the fuzzy-but-popular idea of a “mitochondrial reset,” topping off the cellular batteries that fade with age. MOTS-c is the energy-and-endurance pick, usually stacked on training or a GLP-1. Epitalon draws the telomere-and-sleep crowd. SS-31 pulls the people who actually read the mitochondrial papers.
The community is refreshingly upfront about what these are: self-experiments run on crowd-sourced doses, where the person who felt nothing usually just clicks away and the person who felt great writes the thread. Read the enthusiasm with that filter on, and it’s still some of the most useful real-world signal you’ll find on compounds the big health sites won’t touch.
The biggest claims, the thinnest proof
Here’s the straight talk this corner of the field needs: longevity peptides make the largest promises in this whole reference and, with a single exception, back them with the least human evidence in it. No peptide here has been shown to extend human lifespan or healthspan. Not one. The animal and cell results can be strong on their own terms, but a longer-living mouse is a lead, not a result in a person.
The one honest exception is worth knowing about. SS-31 (elamipretide) went the full distance through clinical trials and is now FDA-approved as Forzinity, but for Barth syndrome, a rare inherited mitochondrial disease, not for anti-aging (FDA label via DailyMed). Its larger Phase 3 trial in a broader mitochondrial muscle disease actually missed its main goal. The most-tested compound in the group is quietly telling you how hard this problem is.
The telomere story is the one to keep a hand on your wallet for. Epitalon’s famous telomerase effect comes from human cells in a dish, and the widely-quoted human “lived longer” data used epithalamin, an older pineal-gland extract, not the synthetic peptide people actually buy.
How longevity peptides actually work
Most peptides in this group attack the same target from different angles: your mitochondria, the tiny power plants inside every cell that make less clean energy and more junk as you age. SS-31 binds a lipid called cardiolipin that the energy machinery sits on, steadying it so cells produce more usable fuel. MOTS-c and humanin are stranger and, honestly, kind of wild: they’re written by your mitochondria’s own DNA (yes, your mitochondria draft their own peptides) and act as signals that switch on stress-defense and fuel-burning programs.
Epitalon pulls a different lever, nudging the telomerase gene that maintains the protective caps on your chromosomes, at least in cultured cells. And NAD+ keeps crashing this conversation while not being a peptide at all: it’s a metabolic coenzyme, lumped in because it feeds the same mitochondrial story. Every one of these mechanisms is mapped mostly in cells and animals. How faithfully it repeats inside a living human body is the whole open question.
Where the evidence really stands
The honest scorecard, compound by compound, is the whole reason to read past the marketing. SS-31 has real human data, mixed overall and strongest in rare disease. MOTS-c has strong mouse data and, for the first time, a real human trial underway: a 120-person Phase 2 in prediabetes that began in 2026 and should read out in 2027 (NCT07505745). Humanin and epitalon are animal-and-cell stories whose human data is observational at best, meaning your own levels of them fall as you age, which is a clue, not a treatment result.
That’s the shape of the whole cluster: a plausible mechanism, encouraging animal work, and a human column that is still mostly blank. The part worth being excited about is that the column is finally filling in, on a clock. MOTS-c’s trial is the first domino, and SS-31’s healthy-aging studies are recruiting now. This is a field getting its first real human answers, not one that already struck out.
Who the longevity peptides are for
These pages are built for the self-experimenter who already does the boring things well, meaning sleep, training, food, and bloodwork, and wants to understand the frontier before spending money or injecting anything. If that’s you, the payoff here is a clear-eyed read on which compounds actually have human evidence (few), which have strong animal signals (several), and which run mostly on hope and marketing (more than the vendors let on).
They’re not the place to find a proven anti-aging fix, because there isn’t one yet, and they’re no substitute for treating an actual condition. Tested athletes should note that several of these, MOTS-c included, are banned in sport. On the practical side, the reconstitution and dosing calculator handles the arithmetic without pretending to recommend a dose, and the mixing compatibility reference covers what shouldn’t share a syringe.
For the wider map, the longevity peptides overlap with the GH secretagogues that chase age-related hormone decline, the metabolic and GLP-1 compounds many of them get stacked with, and the healing and recovery peptides from the same research-chemical world. Start with whatever question brought you here, and follow the honest evidence from there.