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For laboratory research use only. Not for human or veterinary use.
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Bench Grade Peptides

MOTS-c

Mitochondrial-derived 16-residue peptide studied in metabolic-homeostasis and exercise-physiology research.

MOTS-c is supplied by Bench Grade Peptides as a lyophilized powder in a sealed, lot-numbered vial, for laboratory research use only — not for human or veterinary use.

Its published Certificate of Analysis (lot 00011/0011, analyzed September 3, 2026) is from AV Analytics, a third-party laboratory, and reports 99.79% purity by HPLC; every published lot is listed on the product's COA page. Vials ship at ambient temperature in protective packaging from Florida (Bench Grade Peptides LLC is registered in Dover, Delaware), with storage notes on the lot's certificate.

MOTS-c is a sixteen-amino-acid peptide encoded not in the nuclear genome but within the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene — one of a small class of mitochondrial-derived peptides that upended the assumption that mitochondria only export energy. It acts as a signaling molecule, translocating to the nucleus under metabolic stress and influencing gene expression.

The research literature connects MOTS-c to AMPK activation, glucose handling in skeletal muscle, and exercise-responsive metabolic programs; population genetics work has also examined a MOTS-c variant enriched in long-lived cohorts. It sits at the intersection of metabolism, exercise physiology, and aging biology — three of the most active fields in peptide research.

As a mid-length peptide with a defined sequence, MOTS-c verifies cleanly by HPLC and mass spectrometry, and Bench Grade publishes its lot Certificates of Analysis in the COA library.

Research use only. Everything on this page describes laboratory research. This compound is supplied strictly for in-vitro research use; it has not been evaluated or approved by the FDA and is not for human or veterinary use, and nothing here is a protocol or a recommendation.

Published research

  • The mitochondrial-derived peptide MOTS-c is a regulator of plasma metabolites and enhances insulin sensitivity
    Kim SJ, et al. Physiol Rep. 2019.Animal modelPubMed →
  • The Mitochondrial-Derived Peptide MOTS-c Promotes Metabolic Homeostasis and Reduces Obesity and Insulin Resistance
    Lee C, et al. Cell Metab. 2015.Animal modelPubMed →
  • The Mitochondrial-Derived Peptide MOTS-c Promotes Metabolic Homeostasis and Reduces Obesity and Insulin Resistance
    Lee C, et al. Cell Metab. 2015.Animal modelPubMed →

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