Humanin
Mitochondrial-derived peptide
Also HN, Humanin peptide, HNG, Humanin G, S14G-humanin, MTRNR2L
- Evidence
- CAnimal and cell studies
- FDA status
- Not approvedas of 2026-10-27
- Route
- Injection
- Studies cited
- 3 human4 animal or cell
It is sold as an injection for longevity, brain health and blood sugar. No one has tested it in a trial in people; the claims come from animal and lab studies.
Sold for
Humanin is sold as a mitochondrial longevity peptide for brain protection, insulin sensitivity and healthy aging.
Studies say
Humanin protects neurons and improves insulin action in animals and tracks with age and disease in human blood samples, but it has never been administered to people in a trial, which is grade C.
Why grade C. For the longevity and metabolic use humanin is sold for, no human has been given humanin in a published trial. The human data are observational: a 693-person study of plasma mitokines across ages, a disease-comparison study in diabetes and Alzheimer's, and a genetic association with cognitive aging. Effects on insulin sensitivity, synapse loss and lifespan come from rats, mice, cultured neurons and worms. 678123
FDA. Humanin is not approved by the FDA for any use and is sold online as a research chemical. It is not a controlled substance under the DEA schedules. It does not appear in any of the FDA's three categories of substances nominated for compounding under section 503A, so the FDA's interim compounding policy does not cover it.
Written from 13 cited sources. Last refreshed 2026-10-27. Not physician reviewed.
What this means for you
- What people take it for
- Healthy ageing, brain protection, blood sugar
- Can a US doctor prescribe it?
- No. It is not approved and is sold as a research chemical.
- Properly tested in people?
- Not properly: animal and lab studies, plus blood tests in 693 people, but no trial giving it to people.
Evidence checklist
- Randomised controlled trial No human trial; animal and cell workno
- Human study over 100 people Observational study of 693 peopleyes
- More than one research group Several independent groups' human and animal datayes
- Clinical outcomes, not surrogate markers Blood levels and cell effects, no outcomesno
- Human safety data beyond case reports Never given to humans in a published studyno
Drawn from the cited studies below. A dash means the sources give no information.
What it is
Humanin is a 24-amino-acid peptide encoded by a small open reading frame inside the mitochondrial genome, the first of a family now called mitochondria-derived peptides that also includes MOTS-c and the SHLPs. It was discovered in 2001 in a screen for factors that protected neurons from amyloid-beta toxicity, and takes its name from that finding. 5
Circulating humanin is measurable in human plasma and behaves as a stress signal: levels rise with age, are highest in centenarians, and fall in Alzheimer's disease. A single amino acid substitution, serine to glycine at position 14, produces the analog S14G-humanin (HNG), which is about a thousand times more potent in neuroprotection assays and is the form used in most animal experiments and in many online products. 679
How it works
Inside cells humanin binds pro-apoptotic proteins such as BAX and prevents them from triggering cell death; outside cells it signals through a receptor complex involving the cytokine receptor gp130 and through binding IGFBP-3, which links it to the IGF-1 axis. In the brain, astrocytes release it and it protects hippocampal neurons from losing synapses in culture. 52
In rats, humanin infused into the brain improved whole-body insulin sensitivity and glucose handling, pointing to a central role in metabolism. In worms, overexpressing humanin extended lifespan through the daf-16/FOXO pathway, and mice engineered to make more of it were more resistant to toxic insults. 13
What human research shows
Conte and colleagues measured humanin, FGF21 and GDF15 in 693 people aged 21 to 113. All three rose with age and were highest in centenarians, but higher levels went with worse handgrip strength, insulin sensitivity and triglycerides in 70-year-olds and with shorter survival in the oldest, which the authors read as a stress response and not a marker of health. A follow-up found humanin lower in Alzheimer's disease but not in type 2 diabetes. 67
Yen and colleagues identified a variant in the mitochondrial humanin-coding region associated with lower circulating humanin; in a large national cohort of older adults that variant tracked with faster cognitive aging, and in the same paper humanin given to aged mice improved cognition. 8
| Study | Model | Finding |
|---|---|---|
| Muzumdar 2009, insulin sensitivity | Rats, central humanin infusion | Humanin improved hepatic insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism via hypothalamic signalling. 1 |
| Conte 2019, mitokines and aging | Humans, n=693 observational, ages 21 to 113 | Plasma humanin rose with age and was highest in centenarians, but higher levels correlated with worse health measures and shorter survival in the oldest. 6 |
| Yen 2018, cognitive aging | Aged mice treated with humanin plus human genetic cohort | Humanin improved cognition in old mice; a variant lowering circulating humanin was linked to faster cognitive aging in older adults. 8 |
| Yen 2020, lifespan | C. elegans, transgenic mice, human plasma samples | Humanin overexpression extended worm lifespan through daf-16/FOXO; centenarians' offspring had higher humanin. 3 |
Safety
No human has received humanin or its analogs in a published clinical study, so there is no human safety data. The observational finding that high humanin accompanies worse metabolic measures in older adults is a caution against assuming more is better. Products sold online as humanin or HNG are untested for identity, purity or sterility. 65
Questions for your clinician
- Has humanin ever been given to people in a controlled trial?
- What does higher humanin in older people with worse metabolic scores mean?
- How would I know what is in an online vial labeled humanin?
Questions people ask
Does humanin have any FDA-approved use?
No. Humanin has never been submitted for approval and has no approved indication. Online products are sold as research chemicals, in contrast to approved peptides such as bremelanotide and tesamorelin, which went through trials and carry FDA labels. 1213
What is humanin's legal status in the US?
It is not listed in the DEA's schedules of controlled substances, so possessing it is not a drug offence. Selling it for human use without approval is a different matter, and the FDA treats unapproved peptides marketed for injection as unapproved drugs. 410
How do humanin and MOTS-c differ?
Both are peptides encoded by the mitochondrial genome. Humanin comes from the 16S ribosomal RNA region and is best studied for neuroprotection; MOTS-c comes from the 12S region and is studied mainly for exercise and metabolic effects. Neither has an approved use. 5
What have human studies of humanin turned up so far?
Only associations. Humanin rises with age and is highest in centenarians, is lower in Alzheimer's disease, and a genetic variant that lowers it tracks with faster cognitive decline. No study has given humanin to people and measured what happens. 678
Citations
- Muzumdar 2009, PLoS One: humanin as a central regulator of peripheral insulin action doi.org
- Zarate 2019, Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience: humanin released by astrocytes prevents synapse loss in hippocampal neurons doi.org
- Yen 2020, Aging: the mitochondrial derived peptide humanin is a regulator of lifespan and healthspan doi.org
- DEA: controlled substances alphabetical list (Orange Book) deadiversion.usdoj.gov
- Journal of Clinical Investigation 2022: mitochondria-derived peptides in aging and healthspan, review pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Conte 2019, Journals of Gerontology A: human aging and longevity are characterised by high levels of mitokines pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- GeroScience 2021: disease-specific plasma levels of FGF21, GDF15 and humanin in diabetes and Alzheimer's disease pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Yen 2018, Scientific Reports: humanin prevents age-related cognitive decline in mice and is associated with cognitive age in humans pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 2011: biological activity of humanin analogs correlates with structure stability pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- FDA: certain bulk drug substances for use in compounding may present significant safety risks fda.gov
- FDA: bulk drug substances nominated for use in compounding under section 503A, category list fda.gov
- FDA Drugs@FDA: bremelanotide (Vyleesi) application 210557 accessdata.fda.gov
- FDA Drugs@FDA: tesamorelin (Egrifta) application 022505 accessdata.fda.gov