Longevity Compounds Ranked by Evidence

📅 August 11, 2026 ⏱️ 2 min read ✍️ Team TPS

The longevity compounds attack cellular ageing from four different directions, and they vary enormously in how much evidence sits behind them.

NAD+ : replacing a depleted cofactor

NAD+ is central to energy metabolism and declines with age. Supplying it directly is the most straightforward approach in the category, and the underlying biology is well established even where the supplementation question is not.

5-Amino-1MQ: reducing what consumes it

5-Amino-1MQ inhibits NNMT, the enzyme that consumes NAD+ precursors in fat tissue. Same target, opposite direction, and orally active, which is unusual here.

Early evidence: animal and cell work, essentially no human data.

SS-31: protecting the machinery

SS-31 stabilises cardiolipin in the inner mitochondrial membrane, interrupting the oxidative damage cycle.

This one has actual clinical trials behind it, with mixed results, a more developed evidence base than most of the category.

Epitalon: the telomere claim

Epitalon rests on reported telomerase activation. It is the boldest claim here and the thinnest evidence, largely older Russian research that has not been widely replicated.

MOTS-c: the mitochondrial signal

MOTS-c is encoded in mitochondrial rather than nuclear DNA and acts as a metabolic signalling peptide. It sits between the energy and longevity categories.

Metformin, honestly

Metformin has more human data than any peptide here, including a trial specifically designed around ageing endpoints. It also blunts some training adaptations, which is a real trade if muscle is a goal.

How to think about the category

Ranked by evidence: metformin, then SS-31, then NAD+, then MOTS-c, then 5-Amino-1MQ, then epitalon. Ranked by claims made, that order roughly reverses, which is worth noticing.

Supplied for research purposes only.