Humanin is a tiny protein made in mitochondria that seems to help cells survive stress, control metabolism, and reduce inflammation. Studies in cells and animals suggest it could protect against diseases linked to aging like Alzheimer’s, stroke, diabetes, heart damage, and some cancers, and it may be tied to the growth hormone/IGF system that influences lifespan. However, the paper is a review and doesn’t give specific dosing or protocols for humans.

Humanin (HN) is 24-amino acid mitochondria-associated peptide. Since its initial discovery over a decade ago, a role for HN has been reported in many biological processes such as apoptosis, cell survival, substrate metabolism, inflammatory response, and response to stressors such as oxidative stress, ischemia, and starvation. HN and its potent analogs have been shown to have beneficial effects in many age-related diseases including Alzheimer's disease, stroke, diabetes, myocardial ischemia and reperfusion, atherosclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and certain types of cancer both in vitro and in vivo. More recently, an association between HN levels, growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor-1 (GH/IGF axis), and life span was demonstrated using various mouse models with mutations in the GH/IGF axis. The goal of this review is to summarize the current understanding of the role of HN in aging and age-related diseases.