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Humanin

Emerging

A 24-amino-acid peptide your own mitochondria make (encoded inside the 16S rRNA gene MT-RNR2) — the first-discovered…

Aliases (7)
HN · MTRNR2L1-derived peptide · first mitochondrial-derived peptide · HNG (Gly14-humanin analog) · S14G-humanin · AGA-(C8R)-HNG17 (colivelin component) · [Gly14]-Humanin
TYPICAL DOSE
5–10 mg
Daily
ROUTE
Subcutaneous injection
Subcutaneous / IM
CYCLE
Unknown
Typical duration
STORAGE
Store **refrigerated (2–8°C)** until reconstitu…
Refrigerated

Overview

What is Humanin?

Humanin is a 24-amino-acid mitochondrial-derived peptide (MDP) encoded within the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. Discovered in 2001, it is studied for neuroprotection, metabolic health, and longevity.

Key Benefits

Reported neuroprotection in Alzheimer's models, insulin sensitization, cardioprotection, and lifespan extension in animals. Levels decline with age. Used off-label as a research peptide for longevity and cognitive resilience.

Mechanism of Action

Acts via the formyl peptide receptor-like 1 (FPRL1/FPR2) and gp130/IL-6 receptor complex. Inhibits Bax-mediated apoptosis, modulates AMPK, improves insulin signaling, and has anti-inflammatory effects on microglia and immune cells.

Molecular Information

Length

24 amino acids

▸ Reconstitution Lyophilized peptide

Reconstitute lyophilized peptide with bacteriostatic water (BAC) using sterile technique. Calculator below converts vial mg + diluent mL into syringe units.

Vial size
5 mg / vial
Steps
  1. 1 Wipe BAC water vial + peptide vial stoppers with isopropyl alcohol.
  2. 2 Draw the planned diluent volume into a 1 mL syringe.
  3. 3 Inject diluent slowly down the inside wall of the peptide vial — do NOT spray onto powder.
  4. 4 Swirl gently (do not shake) until fully dissolved. Solution should be clear.
  5. 5 Label vial with date reconstituted; refrigerate 2-8 °C.
  6. 6 Use within 30 days for most peptides (BPC-157 / TB-500 ~ 60 days at 4 °C).
Open dose calculator for Humanin

Research Indications

Most Effective

Plasma Humanin declines with age in humans

multiple cross-sectional cohorts show a substantial drop from young adulthood to old age (estimates vary but commonly ~30–50% lower in 70…

Peptide Interactions

mots-c
Synergistic

Sister mitochondrial-derived peptide, complementary mechanism (cytoprotective vs metabolic-signaling). Standard "MDP family stack" pairing. Mechanistic non-o…

ss-31 (Elamipretide)
Synergistic

Mitochondrial cardiolipin stabilizer. Different mechanism layer (structural mitochondrial protection vs Humanin's anti-apoptotic signaling). Standard mitocho…

nad-plus precursors (NMN / NR / direct NAD+ injection)
Synergistic

Mitochondrial substrate layer. Mechanism-coherent with Humanin's mitochondrial encoding and cytoprotective angle.

cerebrolysin
Synergistic

Neurotrophic peptide cocktail (BDNF / GDNF / NGF mimetic activity). Mechanism-different (neurotrophic vs cytoprotective). Theoretical complementarity for AD …

semax / adamax
Synergistic

Russian neuropeptides with BDNF-elevation and broad neuroprotective effects. Mechanism-different from Humanin. Theoretical complementarity for cognitive / ne…

foxo4-dri
Synergistic

Senolytic. Different aging-biology layer (clears senescent cells vs preserves stressed cells). Both fit longevity-protocol Phase 4 framework for older users.…

epithalon
Synergistic

Pineal peptide / putative telomerase activator. Different aging layer. Often paired with mitochondrial peptides in 50+ longevity stacks. Not load-bearing for…

Standard daily V4 / V5 nutrients:
Synergistic

DHA, magnesium, citicoline, NAC, PS, etc. — no documented interactions; broadly compatible.

Active chemotherapy / radiation oncology treatment
Avoid

anti-apoptotic mechanism could protect cancer cells. Theoretical, but specifically flagged in oncology peptide reviews.

High-dose IGF-1 or GH supplementation
Avoid

theoretical IGFBP-3 axis interaction; unclear net direction.

Other anti-apoptotic peptides without rationale
Avoid

theoretical redundancy.

Quality Indicators

✓

White, fluffy cake (peptides)

Lyophilized peptide should appear as a white, fluffy "cake" filling most of the vial bottom. Indicates proper freeze-drying.

✓

Clear solution after reconstitution

After mixing with bacteriostatic water, the solution should be crystal clear with no particles or cloudiness.

!

Slight clumping acceptable

Small clumps that fully dissolve with gentle swirling are normal — shipping can cause minor compaction.

✗

Collapsed or melted powder

Powder that looks collapsed, melted, or stuck to vial sides may have been heat-damaged in transit.

✗

Cloudy or particulate solution

Persistent cloudiness or visible particles after gentle mixing indicate degraded or contaminated material.

What to Expect

  • Acute
    (per-injection): Nothing. No reported acute energy, cognitive, mood, or sensory effects. This is consistent across the small community report base. Humanin i…
  • Week 1–4
    (chronic dosing 5–25 mg SC weekly to 3×/week): Nothing notable. Some users report "feeling slightly more resilient" or "general well-being" — these descripti…
  • Week 4–8
    (cumulative): Same as 1–4 for most reporters. No characteristic emerging signal. A small fraction of users report "feeling like recovery is slightly better" …

Side Effects & Safety 5

Side Effects

  1. 1Injection-site reaction (redness, mild swelling, transient itching) — most-reported AE, by analogy to other peptides.
  2. 2Otherwise: most users report no side effects. This is consistent with the "no acute effect" observation — Humanin is subjectively quiet in both directions (no positive sensation, no negative side effects).
  3. 3Mild headache (unclear attribution; could be peptide-specific or reconstitution / excipient-related)
  4. 4Mild fatigue day-of-injection (occasional anecdotal report)
  5. 5Mild GI (rare)

When to Stop

  • Immunogenicity — Theoretical. SC injection of any peptide carries some immunogenicity risk; the 24-mer Humanin is a native human sequence so risk should be low, but no human pharmacokinetic / immunogenicity data exists to quantify this. HNG (with the Ser14→Gly14 substitution) is a non-native sequence and theoretically carries higher immunogenicity risk than native Humanin, though the substitution is conservative.
  • Theoretical IGF-1 axis effects: Humanin modulates IGFBP-3 binding and free IGF-1 availability. Chronic supraphysiological Humanin exposure could theoretically shift IGF-1 axis balance. Direction: unknown — could be longevity-favorable (lower free IGF-1 → Laron-mimetic) or could have unintended consequences (low IGF-1 has its own pathology spectrum). No human chronic-exposure data.
  • Theoretical cancer-relevant effects: Anti-apoptotic mechanism is broadly cytoprotective, which is good for healthy cells under stress but could theoretically protect cancerous cells under chemotherapy or immune attack. Some Humanin cancer-biology data shows pro-tumor effects in specific cancer cell lines (apoptosis-resistance), other data shows anti-tumor effects. Avoid in active malignancy until clarified.
  • Hypoglycemia: Theoretical via insulin-sensitization mechanism, but not reported in the small community user base. Lower risk than MOTS-c (whose AMPK pathway is more directly glucose-lowering).
  • Not relevant currently — a user in this archetype should not be running Humanin.
  • If hypothetically run in future: monitor first 3 injections for unexpected reactions, monitor IGF-1 and fasting glucose pre/post any cycle.
  • WADA status: Not on the WADA Prohibited List as of 2026. This is a notable contrast with MOTS-c (S4.4 banned since 2024). Humanin's lower competitive-athlete profile (no clear performance-enhancement claim) likely explains the absence. For the user's currently (untested status): WADA-irrelevant. For tested athletes: not currently banned, but this could change if any human performance-enhancement signal emerges.
  • Hypersensitivity to peptide formulations or excipients
  • Active malignancy (theoretical anti-apoptotic effect on cancer cells)
  • Pregnancy / lactation (no data, broad caution)
  • Concurrent IGF-1-modulating therapy (GH, IGF-1 supplementation, somatostatin analogs) — theoretical interaction
  • Active growth (children / adolescents) — theoretical IGF-1 axis interference; not relevant for a 20-year-old in this archetype

References

Hashimoto, Nishimoto et al. 2001 — PNAS discovery paper (PMID 11371646)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · 2001

original Humanin discovery from AD-resistant occipital cortex cDNA library, AD rescue factor characterization

View Study

Cohen lab USC Leonard Davis — Humanin and MDP research program

gero.usc.edu

primary lab program for ongoing Humanin / MOTS-c / SHLP / MDP family work

View Study

JCI 2022 review — Mitochondria-derived peptides in aging and healthspan

jci.org · 2022

Lee/Cohen review covering Humanin, MOTS-c, SHLP1-6, SS-31 family

View Study

Humanin Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

composition, MT-RNR2 encoding, discovery history, mechanism overview

View Study

Frontiers — Humanin: a harbinger of mitochondrial-derived peptides

frontiersin.org

comprehensive Humanin mechanism review

View Study
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