peptides for longevity
longevity is where peptide marketing runs furthest ahead of the data. claims ranked by evidence quality.
several entries have narrow disease-specific approvals or established disease uses, including tesamorelin, elamipretide, rapamycin/sirolimus, and metformin. none is approved to extend healthy-human lifespan. epithalon remains a single-lab russian icon, MOTS-c opened a mitochondrial-derived-peptide research lane, and NAD+ is a dinucleotide cofactor rather than a peptide.
vilon and thymalin retain single-program, replication, null-result, and adverse-result boundaries; immune measurements do not establish lifespan benefit.
mitochondria, immune, and metabolic aging.
compounds with regulatory milestones, mechanistic specificity, or clinical-trial data on aging-adjacent biology.
- tesamorelin (tier S) · ghrh analog, fda-approved nov 2010 as egrifta for hiv-associated lipodystrophy.
- ss-31 (tier A) · mitochondria-targeted tetrapeptide (elamipretide), hazel szeto lab cornell, developed by stealth biotherapeutics.
- mots-c (tier B) · mitochondrial-derived peptide, lee group at usc, 2015. encoded inside the mitochondrial 12s rrna gene.
- humanin (tier C) · the first mitochondrial-derived peptide (hashimoto 2001), encoded inside the mt-rnr2 gene. cytoprotective biology in cells and rodents.
- thymosin alpha-1 (tier C) · 28-amino-acid immune peptide. approved as zadaxin in 35+ countries for chronic hepatitis b and as adjunct in sepsis.
where the story outruns replication.
compounds with high name recognition in longevity discussion and thinner independent evidence than the marketing suggests.
- nad+ (tier D) · not a peptide. dinucleotide cofactor central to mitochondrial energy and repair pathways.
- epithalon (tier C) · khavinson-program tetrapeptide (ala-glu-asp-gly), st. petersburg institute of bioregulation and gerontology.
- pinealon (tier C) · khavinson tripeptide (glu-asp-arg) with neuroprotection claims.
- glutathione (tier D) · endogenous redox tripeptide (gamma-glu-cys-gly) tied to oxidative-stress biology.
- 5-amino-1mq (tier C) · not a peptide. small molecule NNMT inhibitor studied by subcutaneous administration in mice.
- Rapamycin (tier D) · Rapamycin and sirolimus are the same active substance. Product-specific sirolimus approvals and mouse lifespan results do not establish healthy-human longevity or cognitive benefit.
- Metformin (tier D) · Metformin is an established type 2 diabetes drug. Its diabetes outcomes do not establish healthy-human lifespan, healthspan, cognition, or muscle benefit, and randomized geroscience trials have been null or unfavorable on their primary claims.
- vilon (tier D) · two amino acids from a russian lab, lysine joined to glutamic acid, sold on an anti-ageing claim. nobody has registered a trial of it in any registry checked, the three human papers state no sample size, and the strongest animal study reports more tumours.
- thymalin (tier D) · a drug made from calf thymus glands, sold for immune support and to slow ageing. registered in the ussr in 1982 and never once entered into a trial registry. the largest human dataset belongs to the two men who made it.
specific-question reference.
which longevity peptide has the strongest regulatory milestone?
ss-31 (elamipretide), FDA accelerated approval september 2025 for Barth syndrome, a rare cardiolipin-deficiency cardiomyopathy. tesamorelin has older FDA approval (november 2010) for HIV-associated visceral lipodystrophy. both are narrow indications. neither is an approval for healthy-adult anti-aging dosing.
which compound is most interesting mechanistically?
mots-c, identified by lee and cohen at usc in 2015. the first member of a class of peptides encoded inside the mitochondrial genome itself (the 12s rrna open reading frame), signaling on amp-kinase and metabolic flexibility. the human clinical record is still early.
why is epithalon not ranked higher?
the longevity claim depends on khavinson-lab literature with minimal independent western replication. iconic does not mean settled. the single-lab pattern is the weakness.
what is the safest way to read longevity claims?
as evidence tiers. approved narrow indication, controlled human trial, preclinical biology, mechanistic hypothesis, and marketing narrative are different categories that should not be averaged.
what the safety literature reports.
what safety gap matters most in longevity peptides?
duration. short-term and preclinical signals do not characterize chronic healthy-adult exposure. longevity dosing protocols imply years of use against trial data measured in weeks or months.
why is nad+ included if it is not a peptide?
longevity search traffic surfaces it, and excluding it leaves readers without a comparison. it is a dinucleotide cofactor, not a peptide. the iv-clinic outcome claim is not supported by controlled human data, and the page tiers it accordingly rather than pretending it fits the class.
what claim is intentionally avoided?
that any compound extends human lifespan. this page reports mechanisms, trial record, and regulatory status. it does not make lifespan promises.
related comparisons
reptides grades the research record and cites the literature behind every call. research reference only; not medical advice.