Comparison
5-Amino-1MQ vs MOTS-c
Two metabolic compounds approached from opposite ends: an oral small molecule that inhibits an enzyme, and a mitochondrial peptide. Almost no human data between them.
5-Amino-1MQ inhibits NNMT, on a chain of reasoning that runs through NAD+ availability to fat metabolism. MOTS-c is a peptide encoded in mitochondrial DNA, associated with metabolic regulation and exercise capacity in animal work.
Neither has a completed human efficacy trial. That is the most important row in the table below and the reason this page exists. Both are sold on mechanism — both mechanisms are genuinely interesting — and neither has been tested in a person.
The practical difference drives most of the choice anyway. One is a capsule. The other is an injection.
| Attribute | 5-Amino-1MQ | MOTS-c |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Oral small molecule | Mitochondrial-derived peptide |
| Route | Oral | Subcutaneous |
| Evidence level | Preclinical | Preclinical |
| Proposed mechanism | NNMT inhibition, NAD+ precursor sparing | Metabolic regulation, AMPK signalling |
| Human trial data | None completed | None completed |
| Dose basis | Extrapolated from rodent studies | Extrapolated from rodent studies |
Things worth knowing
- Doses for both are converted from animal studies by body weight. That is not how human dosing is established and it is not a conservative method.
- Both are usually run alongside a GLP-1, which accounts for the measurable result on its own. So neither can be evaluated in the arrangement people actually use them in.
- Being oral helps adherence and hurts everything else. There is a trade here that rarely gets stated. There is no human pharmacokinetic data for 5-Amino-1MQ, so nobody knows what is absorbed.
Full profile
5-Amino-1MQ
An oral NNMT inhibitor with striking results in obese mice and no human data whatsoever. Not a peptide, despite where it is sold.
Full profile
MOTS-c
A 16-amino-acid peptide encoded by mitochondrial rather than nuclear DNA, studied in animals for effects on metabolism and exercise capacity.
This page is educational. It describes what published research reports, not what you should do. Peptides discussed here are largely not approved for human use, and nothing on Bioalmanac is medical advice.