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Dosage information

MOTS-c dosage

No human dose of MOTS-c has been established, and there is no FDA label because it is not an approved drug.1 Published MOTS-c dosage information comes from mouse and rat studies that injected 0.5 to 15 mg/kg, and a registered human trial has not disclosed its dose.2513

This page summarizes published sources for information only. It is not medical advice and does not tell anyone to use a product. Questions about your own health belong with a licensed clinician. For questions about an order or a product, contact us.

No established human dose

MOTS-c has no FDA-approved label, so there is no prescribing information to quote.1 FDA's May 2026 review found no clinical studies or human exposure data for MOTS-c by any route.1 USADA also states that no human clinical trial has been completed.4 Studies of its effects so far have used cells and rodents.12 Every number on this page is a condition used in research. None of them is guidance for a person.

Doses used in published animal studies

In the table, IP means intraperitoneal injection, into the abdominal cavity. Doses are in milligrams per kilogram of body weight (mg/kg). The Lee and Reynolds rows follow the original papers; the other rows follow FDA's 2026 summary.

Study Animals Dose and route Length Measured
Lee 2015 Male CD-1 mice on a 60% fat diet 0.5 mg/kg/day, IP 8 weeks Body weight, energy use, liver fat21
Lee 2015 Mice on a 60% fat diet 5 mg/kg/day, IP 7 days Insulin sensitivity (clamp test)2
Lee 2015 Male mice, 12 months old 5 mg/kg/day, IP 7 days Muscle insulin sensitivity2
Kim 2019 Obese male mice, 17 weeks old 2.5 mg/kg twice a day, IP 3 days Blood glucose1
Lu 2019 Female mice with ovaries removed 5 mg/kg/day, IP 12 weeks Weight gain1
Reynolds 2021 Young male CD-1 mice 5 mg/kg/day, IP 2 weeks Rotarod test of balance and coordination5
Reynolds 2021 Male C57BL/6N mice aged 12 and 22 months 15 mg/kg/day, IP 2 weeks Treadmill running5
Reynolds 2021 Old male C57BL/6N mice 15 mg/kg, IP: daily from 22 months, then three times a week from 23.5 months For life Physical capacity, lifespan51
Wei 2020 Rats with induced vessel calcification 5 mg/kg/day, IP During nicotine plus vitamin D3 exposure Vessel and heart changes1

FDA's summary of Reynolds 2021 gives 5 mg/kg for treadmill tests in mice aged 2, 12 and 22 months.1 The paper itself reports 15 mg/kg a day for 2 weeks in the 12- and 22-month-old mice.5 What these studies found is covered on MOTS-c benefits and uses.

Patterns across the studies

  • One common dose. Five of the nine entries used 5 mg/kg a day.215 The lowest was 0.5 mg/kg a day and the highest 15 mg/kg a day.25
  • Short courses. Where a length is stated, treatment ran from 3 days to 12 weeks, except for the late-life study, which continued for the rest of the mice's lives.215
  • Mostly male animals. Every entry that names the sex used male animals, except one study of female mice with their ovaries removed.215
  • A different route in the human trial. Every rodent study in the table used IP injection.215 The registered human trial and the products named in the FDA nomination use injection under the skin (subcutaneous).31

Why these numbers do not convert to a human dose

A common question is whether a mouse dose can be scaled up to a person. The sources give four reasons it cannot be done here.

  • No dose-response data. The rodent studies did not test how effects change as the dose changes.1 Without that, there is no way to tell whether a lower or higher amount would matter.
  • No safety margin. FDA identified no nonclinical toxicity studies to inform safety for any clinical use.1 So no source shows where harm begins.
  • Unclear exposure. In human blood in a test tube, MOTS-c broke down quickly into shorter fragments.1 Whether injected MOTS-c reaches active levels in people over time is unknown.1
  • Unknown targets. FDA reviewers say its molecular targets are unknown, which makes it hard to predict which organs any amount would affect.1

Natural blood levels cannot anchor a dose either. Published values differ more than a thousand-fold: group averages of about 470 to 560 ng/mL in one study of children, against about 315 pg/mL in Chinese adults with metabolic syndrome in another.67 A mass spectrometry test also could not confirm ELISA readings of 45.9 to 218.5 ng/mL in 20 healthy people.8

Human trials and proposed products

  • Phase 2a trial NCT07505745. This placebo-controlled trial, sponsored by Hudson Biotech, enrolls adults with prediabetes and overweight or obesity.3 It tests whether 12 weeks of MOTS-c improves insulin sensitivity.3 Participants receive a fixed dose once daily under the skin, but the registry does not state the amount.3 No results have been posted.3
  • CB4211, a different molecule. CohBar's CB4211 is a modified analog of MOTS-c, not MOTS-c itself.9 In the 4-week phase 1b part of its trial, 20 obese adults with fatty liver disease received 25 mg once daily under the skin or a placebo, according to the company.9 The full phase 1a/1b study enrolled 88 people, including healthy non-obese volunteers.10 No results are posted on ClinicalTrials.gov.10 That amount applies only to CB4211.
  • Products named in the FDA nomination. The nomination FDA reviewed in 2026 proposed 5 mg and 10 mg MOTS-c products for subcutaneous injection.1 These are product strengths, not doses backed by human data.1 FDA reviewers proposed not adding MOTS-c to the compounding list.1

Dosing charts found online

FDA found injectable MOTS-c marketed online for uses such as metabolic balance and glucose control.1 A dosing chart that comes with such marketing cannot rest on completed human trials, because none exists.4 FDA states that the safety risks of MOTS-c in humans are unknown.1 In sport, MOTS-c is prohibited at all times, in and out of competition.4

How to read a MOTS-c dosage claim

When a page lists a MOTS-c dosage, check four things against the studies above:

  1. Species. Every published MOTS-c dose so far comes from mice or rats.1
  2. Molecule. A human dose of CB4211 is not a dose of MOTS-c, because CB4211 is a modified analog.9
  3. Strength or dose. A 5 mg or 10 mg figure may be a product strength from the FDA nomination, not a dose.1
  4. Evidence. Ask which completed human trial supports the number. None has been completed.4

Lab math is not a dose

A vial's strength is a lab quantity. Its concentration after mixing equals the amount of peptide divided by the volume of diluent. The reconstitution calculator and the peptide calculator do that arithmetic, and peptide dosage basics explains the units. Neither tool suggests a dose.

More on MOTS-c

  • MOTS-c benefits and uses

    What published sources report about MOTS-c and its uses, with the evidence level of each finding. No promises.

  • MOTS-c side effects

    Side effects of MOTS-c as reported in published studies, with links to the full profile. Reviewed by a qualified reviewer.

MOTS-c in the store

MOTS-c for sale: strengths, stock and shipping are on the product page.

For research use only. Not for human or veterinary use. Read the research use policy.

Frequently asked questions

How much MOTS-c should I inject?

No human dose of MOTS-c has been established, so no amount can be recommended.1 FDA found no clinical studies or human safety data,1 the published doses come from rodent studies that did not test dose response,1 and the registered phase 2a trial in people has not posted results or stated its dose amount.3 MOTS-c is not approved for use in humans or in compounded medications.4

How long do people stay on MOTS-c?

There is no established course of use in people.1 The registered phase 2a trial gives MOTS-c once daily for 12 weeks under study conditions.3 The published mouse studies ran from 3 days to 12 weeks, apart from one late-life study.15 USADA notes that there are no data on what happens with long-term use.4 Study lengths are research conditions, not a recommended cycle.

Can a mouse dose of MOTS-c be converted to a human dose?

Not from the published data. The rodent studies did not test how effects change with dose,1 FDA found no human exposure data,1 and no toxicity studies were identified to inform safety.1 In a test tube, human blood broke MOTS-c down quickly into shorter fragments, and it is unknown whether injected MOTS-c reaches active levels in people.1

Does MOTS-c have an FDA-approved dose?

No. MOTS-c is not an FDA-approved drug and is not part of any approved drug, so there is no prescribing label or labeled dose.1 In May 2026, FDA reviewers also proposed not adding it to the list of substances compounding pharmacies may use.1 A July 2026 advisory committee vote in favor of adding it is not binding.11

Written by D2C Peptides Editorial Team.

Pending qualified review.

Updated .

Sources

  1. FDA Briefing Document: Evaluation of MOTS-c-Related Bulk Drug Substances (MOTS-c (free base) and MOTS-c acetate), PCAC meeting July 23-24, 2026, memo dated 5/11/2026 (human safety section). U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2026.
  2. The mitochondrial-derived peptide MOTS-c promotes metabolic homeostasis and reduces obesity and insulin resistance (Lee et al.). Cell Metabolism, 2015.
  3. MOTS-c for Improving Insulin Sensitivity in Adults With Prediabetes and Overweight/Obesity (NCT07505745), Phase 2a, sponsor Hudson Biotech. ClinicalTrials.gov (NLM), 2026.
  4. What is the MOTS-c peptide? (undated page; cites the 2026 FDA briefing). U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), 2026.
  5. MOTS-c is an exercise-induced mitochondrial-encoded regulator of age-dependent physical decline and muscle homeostasis (Reynolds et al.). Nature Communications, 2021.
  6. Circulating MOTS-c levels are decreased in obese male children and adolescents and associated with insulin resistance (Du et al.; PubMed abstract via NCBI E-utilities). Pediatric Diabetes, 2018.
  7. Plasma mitochondrial derived peptides MOTS-c and SHLP2 positively associate with android and liver fat in people without diabetes (Sequeira et al.; PubMed abstract via NCBI E-utilities). Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) General Subjects, 2021.
  8. Development of a mass spectrometry based detection method for the mitochondrion-derived peptide MOTS-c in plasma samples for doping control purposes (Knoop et al.; PubMed abstract via NCBI E-utilities). Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 2019.
  9. CohBar Announces Positive Topline Results from the Phase 1a/1b Study of CB4211 Under Development for NASH and Obesity (press release, August 10, 2021, republished by BioSpace). CohBar, Inc. (via BioSpace), 2021.
  10. A Phase 1a/1b Study of Safety, Tolerability, and Pharmacokinetics of CB4211 (NCT03998514), sponsor CohBar, Inc. ClinicalTrials.gov (NLM), 2019.
  11. FDA advisers narrowly vote to add 6 peptides to a drug compounding list. What's next? (July 24, 2026). ABC News, 2026.