MENTSH_Dosage, benefits & legal status
Also known as MDP Encoded in the ND-Two Subunit of Humans
A 2026 discovery from the lab that found MOTS-c and the SHLP peptides. Mouse and genetics work only, and nobody sells it.
Common vial size is what vendors typically sell, not a recommendation. Enter your own vial in the calculator.
What is MENTSH?
Plain language first. The technical label stays, but it never stands alone.Overview
It is not a treatment. The finding is a genetic one: a common mitochondrial variant that is silent in the MT-ND2 gene destroys this microprotein's start codon, and carriers have higher HbA1c and more diabetes in cohorts of Hispanic and Mexican American participants. In mice on a high-fat diet, giving the peptide reduced weight gain and improved glucose handling, with engineered versions working better than the natural one.
MENTSH stands for MDP Encoded in the ND-Two Subunit of Humans. It is a mitochondrial-derived microprotein coded by a small open reading frame that overlaps the MT-ND2 gene, reported in Theranostics in July 2026 by the University of Southern California group that described MOTS-c and the SHLP peptides.
What it's used for
Nothing. It is a research finding about a mitochondrial variant and a microprotein, published in 2026. No human has been given it and no supplier lists it.
How does MENTSH work?
What it does in the body, and where.MENTSH belongs to a small group of peptides coded inside mitochondria rather than by nuclear DNA. Its open reading frame sits inside the MT-ND2 gene, so one stretch of mitochondrial DNA carries two separate messages.
- 01A silent variant that is not silentThe mitochondrial variant T4977C, also written rs28357981, changes nothing in the MT-ND2 protein. It does destroy the ATT start codon of the MENTSH reading frame, so carriers are predicted to make none of this microprotein. The paper is explicit that the missing protein was predicted rather than measured.
- 02The effect shows up only with extra weightIn the discovery cohort the variant raised HbA1c only in people above a body mass index of 25 or 30. That interaction, rather than a plain association, is how it was found.
- 03Mice, and engineered versionsOn normal chow the peptide did nothing to weight, food intake or blood sugar. On a high-fat diet, twice-daily dosing reduced weight gain and improved glucose tolerance. Two laboratory-designed analogs, M32 and a shortened M32-PH, worked better than the natural peptide, and the authors note this could be a gain of function rather than the same mechanism.
A schematic of the compound's mechanism, not a diagnostic image.
What else is it used for?
Each group carries its own evidence level.Approved means regulators have cleared it for that purpose. Investigational means it is in trials. Early research means it is being studied and is not established.
The human genetics
Early research- Human observationIn about 918 Hispanic participants of the Health and Retirement Study, this was the top mitochondrial hit for a variant-by-body-mass-index effect on HbA1c, at q = 0.0055.
- Human observationIn 868 Mexican American participants of MESA, the variant was associated with HbA1c at p = 0.0126.
- Human observationIn a family study of hypertension and insulin resistance, carriers were 28 of 113 people with diabetes against 116 of 759 controls, at p = 0.001.
- No dataThe variant is found mainly in people of Native American descent and in roughly 20% of Mexican and Mexican American people. It has not been tested in other populations.
- No dataAssociation is not causation here, and the authors say so: they did not measure whether carriers actually lack the protein.
Mice and cells
Research only- Animal studyOn normal chow, twice-daily dosing for 10 days changed nothing: not body weight, not food intake, not blood glucose.
- Animal studyOn a high-fat diet, twice-daily dosing significantly reduced weight gain and improved glucose tolerance.
- Animal studyIn long-term high-fat-diet females, the engineered analog M32 improved glucose tolerance at p = 0.0244 while the natural peptide only trended at p = 0.0900.
- Lab studyIn cells carrying the variant's mitochondria, fatty-acid oxidation failed to rise with palmitate, and adding the peptide restored the response.
- No dataNo human has received MENTSH or either analog.
Two things to keep straight. The paper's title links a SNP to type 2 diabetes, not the peptide: what is associated with diabetes is carrying a variant that would switch MENTSH off, in cohorts of Hispanic and Mexican American participants. The strongest mouse results came from M32 and M32-PH, two analogs designed in a laboratory, not from MENTSH itself. The authors raise the possibility that those analogs work through a different mechanism. Anything sold under this name would also be unverifiable, because the paper does not print a confirmed full-length sequence.
The published record
Papers and trials about MENTSH
2 papers tagged human · 2 not reviews or lab · 0 clinical trial publications
Furthest stage reached: No clinical trial on record
Counted from Europe PMC indexing, not read by a person; a human tag can land on reviews, commentary or lab papers; clinical trial publications is the narrower count.
At a glance
Four things to know about MENTSH
Evidence
Category
Weight loss and metabolic
Common vial
Varies
Half-life
10.4 minutes in mice
How much, and do you cycle it?
The range, and whether you take breaks.No human dose exists, not applicable. Not applicable No range
Nothing is taken, so there is no schedule. The mouse protocols ran from twice-daily injections for 10 days up to implanted pumps delivering it continuously for two weeks, and a high-fat-diet arm lasting about two months.
10.4 minutes in miceAnimal study
Measured after intraperitoneal injection in mice. Nothing has been measured in humans. A clearance that fast is why the mouse protocols dosed twice a day.
Source: Theranostics, July 20, 2026
You can compare this against the whole library to see where it sits.
What does it cost?
Typical dose and cost, in plain numbers.MENTSH is not injected
It is taken not taken as a treatment. No human dose exists. The mouse work used twice-daily injections into the abdomen over 10 days, a single high dose in one arm, and implanted pumps delivering it continuously under the skin for two weeks in the longer studies; the paper's own pharmacokinetics put the half-life at 10.4 minutes, and that is why the injected schedules were so frequent. Nothing in that translates to a human dose, and any figure offered for one would be invented.
How do you store it?
Before mixing, and after.Nothing to store: it is not taken as a treatment.
MENTSH is not used as a medicine or a supplement, so no home storage question arises. Laboratory suppliers ship research material frozen and state their own handling conditions on the certificate that comes with it.
What are the side effects and cautions?
Known cautions and warnings for this compound.Who should avoid it
- Any human use: there is no safety data, no dose and no supply
- Treating the genetic finding as a diagnosis: the variant is associated with higher HbA1c, not shown to cause diabetes
Stop and get help
- Not applicable. Nothing is taken
Common effects
- Unknown in humans. All dosing work was in mice
Where this page says nothing is established, that means nobody has studied it, not that a compound is safe.
Is MENTSH approved?
And where the numbers on this page come from.No. MENTSH is not approved for any use, anywhere. It is sold labeled for laboratory research only, and there is no legal route to buy it for human use.
- Approval statusResearch only
- RouteNot taken as a treatment
- Checked23 October 2026
- DoseNo dose has been established in people.
- Vial sizeFrom what vendors typically list; not a recommendation.
- Sources
What has happened recently
No regulatory status anywhere. There is no FDA GSRS record, no INN and no UniProt entry. That is normal for a microprotein named three months ago. No trial has been registered and no supplier lists it. The paper's competing-interests statement does disclose that the university and two of its senior authors hold patents on MENTSH, so the discovery is not unclaimed intellectual property.
You can compare this against the whole library, or read how to check a seller.
What else is like MENTSH?
Others in Weight loss and metabolic, side by side.If you're weighing MENTSH, it's worth reading ASC37, BI 3034701, and Semaglutide in the same class.
A 2026 discovery from the lab that found MOTS-c and the SHLP peptides. Mouse and genetics work only, and nobody sells it.
- Dose
- No human dose exists
- How often
- Not applicable
A 41-amino-acid GLP-1, GIP and glucagon peptide with no human data of any kind, and company press releases as its entire evidence base.
- Dose
- No human dose exists
- How often
- Intended once weekly by mouth, or once monthly by injection
The drug that shows 'triple agonist' is a shape, not a mechanism.
- Dose
- No human dose disclosed; six dose groups are being tested
- How often
- Not disclosed
The drug in Ozempic and Wegovy: a weekly shot that curbs hunger for steady weight loss.
- Dose
- 0.25 up to 2.4 mg per week (start low, increase slowly)
- How often
- Weekly
Guides for this compound
- How to Reconstitute a Peptide
Mix peptide powder with bacteriostatic water, step by step.
- How to Read an Insulin Syringe
Read the units, convert to millilitres, and draw the exact dose.
- mcg vs mg: The Peptide Dosing Mistake to Avoid
Your vial says mg and your protocol says mcg. Here is the conversion and how to check it.
- How to Read a Peptide COA
What the purity number does and does not tell you, and how to spot an edited report.
- How to Vet a Peptide Vendor
Independent COAs, HPLC purity, and the red flags that mean walk away.
Sources
- Yen, Ramirez, Cohen et al., Theranostics, July 20, 2026(2026)Theranostics 2026;16(14):8180-8194. Names MENTSH, places it in a reading frame overlapping MT-ND2, reports the T4977C start-codon disruption, the three cohort associations and the mouse work. Mouse half-life 10.4 minutes after intraperitoneal injection.
Beyond these, 3 records are indexed. Browse the records