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Goal

Peptides for longevity

The available studies do not show that these peptides extend human life. They measured shorter-term outcomes rather than lifespan.

Source for this answer

Source: Based on 6 compound guides · checked 2026-09-07

Source: Based on 6 compound guides · checked 2026-09-07

The comparison includes five peptides and NAD+. NAD+ is a coenzyme, not a peptide, but it is often offered for the same longevity goals.

Some human studies measured hormones or other markers. The lifespan findings often attached to Epitalon concern a different substance, Epithalamin.

At a glance

Compounds covered

6

FDA-approved for this goal

0

Being tested for this goal

0

Reported use only

4

Start with the outcome

What kind of anti-aging result are you looking for?

The category becomes clearer when one broad promise is split into outcomes a study could actually measure. These four questions do not share one answer.

No human lifespan trial

Living longer

No peptide record on this page measured how long people lived. The lifespan result often attached to Epitalon came from a different substance.

See the Epitalon–Epithalamin boundary

No aging-function outcome

Staying capable longer

The short human studies measured hormones, blood markers or tissue signals. They did not test whether people stayed stronger, sharper or independent for longer.

Animals, observations, short infusions

Metabolic aging

MOTS-c has mouse experiments and human correlations, not a treatment trial. NAD+ infusion studies are short and have not established a clinical outcome.

Read what the MOTS-c research shows

Topical evidence is a separate class

Skin aging

Creams, serums, microneedle patches and injected research powders are not interchangeable. The controlled skin studies answer only the topical question.

Compare the controlled skincare studies

Six compounds, and how long each study ran

Compare the actual outcome and study duration. Findings about hormones, eye disease or body-fat distribution do not show a longer or healthier life.

◆ 6 compounds coveredsources shown in each row
Compounds people take for this purpose, why they use them, what human research has measured, and where the evidence comes from.
CompoundWhat people take it forWhat research showsEvidence
EpitalonSold for longevity — longer telomeres, better sleep and slower aging.Measured in a human studyThe published evidence includes two human studies of the peptide. One gave 5 mcg per eye on ten days to 162 patients with retinitis pigmentosa. The other gave 0.5 mg a day for twenty days to 75 women and measured a melatonin marker and three clock genes. Both came from the institute that made it.limited human dataDose from a human trial · no FDA label
NAD+Sold by drip clinics for energy, brain fog and recovery, on the fact that tissue levels fall with age.Measured in a human studyThe registered studies described here used intravenous NAD+. A 12-participant phase 1 ran 10, 20 and 50 mg daily for 21 days; another gave 100 mg daily for a week; a third compared a single 500 mg infusion against nicotinamide riboside. None established that raising it changes a clinical outcome.limited human dataDose from a human trial · no FDA label
MOTS-cSold for metabolic aging and exercise capacity, on the observation that blood levels fall with age.Reported use onlyThe cited experiments tested metabolic effects in mice. Human observations linked natural MOTS-c levels with age or fitness, without testing a treatment. Those correlations do not show that giving MOTS-c improves longevity.no human dose shown to workNo human dose published
TesamorelinEgrifta SV, Egrifta WRSought for general anti-aging uses beyond its approved indication.Reported use onlyIt is approved for excess abdominal fat in adults with HIV-related lipodystrophy, and for nothing else. Its label states the drug is not approved for weight loss and describes the effect on body weight as neutral. No aging endpoint appears anywhere on its record.FDA labelDose from the FDA-approved label
SermorelinSold by anti-aging clinics for energy and body composition, as a way to restore youthful hormone levels.Reported use onlyIt was once an approved American medicine, used to test pituitary function and for growth failure in children. That product was withdrawn, and the withdrawal was not a safety action. The one adult study ran 14 days and measured hormone levels, not how anyone looked or felt.limited human dataDose from a human trial · no FDA label
GHK-CuSold for skin aging, on the finding that its natural plasma level falls sharply between youth and old age.Reported use onlyBlood levels falling with age do not show that replacing GHK-Cu slows aging. The topical studies discussed in this record assessed skin or wound outcomes, not lifespan. Those findings cannot show a longevity injection dose.indirect evidenceNo human dose published

2 rest on a human study that measured something in this goal. 4 rest on reported use alone, with no study behind them.

Epitalon and Epithalamin are different substances

Epitalon is a four-amino-acid peptide. Epithalamin is an extract from bovine pineal glands. A result from one cannot be assigned to the other.

The Epitalon evidence includes a study in people with retinitis pigmentosa and a twenty-day study of melatonin-related and clock-gene markers. Neither establishes a human lifespan benefit.

Changing a marker does not show a longevity benefit

A study can measure a change in blood levels, hormones or clock genes without showing that someone lives longer or stays independent longer. Those outcomes need their own evidence.

The studies reviewed here do not show that changing these markers with the listed compounds improves human longevity. Evidence for a separate approved use, such as tesamorelin’s HIV-related indication, does not answer that question.

Where to go next

Which purposes have evidence behind them

4 pairings have an FDA-approved product, 2 have an approval outside the U.S., and 6 are being tested in trials.

How MOTS-c differs from the rest of its class

No published human dosing schedule was found for MOTS-c.

What epitalon is, how it is used, and what has been studied

Epitalon is a pineal tetrapeptide (research compound).

Every compound sold for testosterone

4 compounds are sold or prescribed for testosterone; the comparison shows what has actually been studied.

What is established for skin

For skin, 1 of 3 compounds have human evidence and 2 rely on reported use alone.

How strong the evidence is for NAD+

The strongest source for NAD+ is a foreign approval or thin human data.

Sermorelin — class, half-life and regulatory standing

No approved brand name is listed for sermorelin.

GHK-Cu without an approved label: what exists instead

No published half-life figure was found for GHK-Cu.

Every purpose covered this way is listed on the index of goals people buy peptides for.

21primary sources, each with the day we read it — open the documents used on this page