Longevity peptides

Which peptides fall under the longevity umbrella?

A 2026 narrative review in Frontiers in Aging identifies nine peptides spanning "metabolic restoration (tirzepatide), telomere biology (epitalon), dermal regeneration (GHK-Cu), tissue repair (BPC-157, TB-500), neuroprotection (Semax), growth hormone modulation (CJC-1295, ipamorelin), and sexual function (bremelanotide)" [1]. The review separates "FDA-approved agents" from "non-approved peptides" [1]; in this list the approved ones are tirzepatide and bremelanotide, neither for aging (see Zepbound and PT-141), and FDA's Category 2 page records withdrawn 503A nominations for epitalon, MOTS-c, BPC-157, TB-500, Semax, CJC-1295, ipamorelin and injectable GHK-Cu [2].

What does the evidence show?

The same review reports that "FDA-approved agents demonstrated robust safety profiles from large-scale trials," while "non-approved peptides showed promising preclinical and limited clinical evidence but lack long-term safety data and systematic validation" [1]. It concludes that "investigational peptides require rigorous validation through well-designed clinical trials to establish safety and efficacy for healthspan extension" [1].

Are NAD+ and rapamycin longevity peptides too?

No. NAD+ is a coenzyme, chemically a dinucleotide rather than an amino-acid chain, which FDA lists for compounding evaluation as "Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD)" in Category 1 [3]. Rapamycin is the generic name for sirolimus, an mTOR-inhibitor drug first approved in 1999, not a peptide either [4]. Both are frequently marketed alongside longevity peptides; neither is FDA-approved for longevity.