5-Amino-1MQ and MOTS-c are often listed together as "metabolic" research compounds, and searches compare them as if they were two versions of one thing. They are not even the same kind of molecule. One is a small quinolinium ion that inhibits an enzyme; the other is a 16-amino-acid peptide coded in mitochondrial DNA. What they share is the state of their evidence: animal studies, no approved product and no published human dose. This page puts the two side by side by what can be measured — mass, molecules, vial sizes, mouse doses, registry and regulator records (all re-read 2026-10-12) — and converts the circulating figures into syringe units. It reports; it suggests no dose.
The full record for each is on 5-Amino-1MQ dosage and MOTS-c dosage; the most searched pairing of MOTS-c with a weight-loss drug is counted on retatrutide and MOTS-c. The other small molecule often listed beside MOTS-c, an ERR agonist described as an exercise mimetic, is compared on SLU-PP-332 vs MOTS-c.
Two different kinds of molecule
| 5-Amino-1MQ | MOTS-c | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Small-molecule quinolinium cation | 16-amino-acid peptide |
| Formula | C10H11N2+ (iodide C10H11IN2) | C101H152N28O22S2 |
| Molecular weight | 159.21 (iodide 286.11) | 2,174.6 |
| Target | Enzyme NNMT (nicotinamide N-methyltransferase) | Folate cycle → AMPK activation (Lee 2015) |
| Forms sold | 50 and 100 mg vials; 50 and 100 mg capsules | 5 and 10 mg vials |
| PubMed records naming it (2026-10-12) | 3 | 257 |
MOTS-c is about 14 times heavier than the 5-Amino-1MQ cation. That single fact drives most of the arithmetic below: a milligram of MOTS-c is a small number of large molecules, and a milligram of 5-Amino-1MQ a large number of small ones.
Molecules per milligram and per vial
| Amount | 5-Amino-1MQ iodide | 5-Amino-1MQ cation basis | MOTS-c |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 mg | 3.50 µmol | 6.28 µmol | 0.46 µmol |
| 5 mg | 17.5 µmol | 31.4 µmol | 2.30 µmol |
| 5 mg MOTS-c vial | — | — | 2.30 µmol |
| 10 mg MOTS-c vial | — | — | 4.60 µmol |
| 50 mg 5-Amino-1MQ vial | 174.8 µmol | 314.0 µmol | — |
| 100 mg 5-Amino-1MQ vial | 349.5 µmol | 628.1 µmol | — |
The two 5-Amino-1MQ columns exist because a label that says "50 mg" may mean the iodide salt or the active cation; the cation is 55.6% of the salt by mass, so the same label can describe two amounts that differ by 1.8 times. MOTS-c has no salt ambiguity of that size. On any reading, a 50 mg 5-Amino-1MQ vial holds roughly 76 to 137 times as many molecules as a 5 mg MOTS-c vial.
What the published work dosed
| 5-Amino-1MQ (NNMT inhibitor) | MOTS-c | |
|---|---|---|
| Key paper | Neelakantan, Biochem Pharmacol 2019: 24-month-old mice, 5 and 10 mg/kg for 1 or 3 weeks after muscle injury | Lee, Cell Metabolism 2015: mice, prevented diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance |
| Other stated doses | — | 15 mg/kg a day in mice (Kumagai 2024); 5 mg/kg in rats (Chen 2026) |
| Human registrations | 0 (ClinicalTrials.gov, 2026-10-12) | 5 intervention records; one administers it (NCT07505745), dose not stated |
| Human analogue data | None | CB4211, a different molecule, 25 mg daily in a 2021 company release |
Every published dose is per kilogram of a mouse or rat. The body-surface conversion that turns mouse milligrams-per-kilogram into a human figure divides by 12.3, and the paper that sets out that method states that such a figure should not be read as a human dose by simple conversion (PMID 17942826, cited on the 5-Amino-1MQ page). No study of any species has given the two compounds together; PubMed held no record naming both on 2026-10-12.
Regulator and sport status
| 5-Amino-1MQ | MOTS-c | |
|---|---|---|
| FDA safety-risk list (content current 2026-04-22) | Not listed | Listed: "FDA has not identified any human exposure data on drug products containing MOTs-C administered via any route of administration" |
| Approved product anywhere | None | None |
| WADA 2026 | Not named | S4.4.1, named among the AMPK activators, prohibited at all times |
The FDA list covers substances nominated for compounding; 5-Amino-1MQ's absence from it says nothing about its safety either way. The WADA entry follows directly from the 2015 mechanism: the list names MOTS-c by its full name, "mitochondrial open reading frame of the 12S rRNA-c".
The circulating figures in syringe units
The injectable figures on vendor and protocol pages are 2.5 to 5 mg a day for 5-Amino-1MQ and 5 mg per injection for MOTS-c (both recorded on this site's compound pages, 2026-09-18 and 09-19). Converted on a U-100 syringe:
| Vial and water | Concentration | mcg per unit | 2.5 mg | 5 mg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5-Amino-1MQ 50 mg in 2 mL | 25 mg/mL | 250 | 10 units | 20 units |
| 5-Amino-1MQ 100 mg in 2 mL | 50 mg/mL | 500 | 5 units | 10 units |
| MOTS-c 5 mg in 1 mL | 5 mg/mL | 50 | 50 units | 100 units |
| MOTS-c 10 mg in 2 mL | 5 mg/mL | 50 | 50 units | 100 units |
| MOTS-c 10 mg in 1 mL | 10 mg/mL | 100 | 25 units | 50 units |
The same milligram figure lands on very different parts of the barrel because the vials are different sizes: 5-Amino-1MQ is sold in 50 and 100 mg vials, MOTS-c in 5 and 10 mg. A 5 mg MOTS-c vial holds exactly one 5 mg amount at any water volume; a 50 mg 5-Amino-1MQ vial holds ten. The oral 5-Amino-1MQ capsules cannot be converted at all, since a capsule has no concentration. Other combinations are worked by the vial arithmetic for 5-Amino-1MQ and the MOTS-c calculator.
What is not established
Neither compound has a human dose, a completed human trial of the compound itself, or an approved product. Nothing has been published on taking them together, and their different mechanisms give no basis for predicting what a combination would do. The figures circulating for both are conventions without a source. Product and dose decisions belong with a clinician. Medibact's 5-Amino-1MQ guide and MOTS-c guide cover each compound.
Sources and dates
Opened 2026-10-12: PubChem CIDs 950107, 66522933 and 146675088; PubMed abstracts PMIDs 25738459 (Lee 2015) and 30753815 (Neelakantan 2019); PubMed searches for each compound and for both together; ClinicalTrials.gov v2 API intervention searches for 5-Amino-1MQ and MOTS-c; FDA, "Certain bulk drug substances for use in compounding that may present significant safety risks" (content current as of 2026-04-22); the 2026 WADA Prohibited List as published in Tractatenblad 2026 no. 25, section S4.4.1. From this site's compound pages (opened 2026-09-18 and 2026-09-19): Kumagai 2024 (PMID 38170165), Chen 2026 (PMID 41268602), NCT07505745, the CB4211 release, and the circulating figures. Molar and unit arithmetic by this site. Corrections go to the contact page.