Is SLU-PP-332 an approved drug?

No. SLU-PP-332 is a research-use-only compound. It has not been approved by any regulatory authority for human use, and no human clinical trials have been published. It is sold strictly for in-vitro and laboratory research.

Is SLU-PP-332 a peptide?

No. Although some vendors list it as a peptide, SLU-PP-332 is a non-peptide synthetic small molecule with the formula C18H14N2O2 (molar mass 290.3 g/mol) and CAS number 303760-60-3.

What does SLU-PP-332 do at the molecular level?

Researchers reported it acts as an agonist of the estrogen-related receptors (ERRα/β/γ), with highest potency at ERRα (EC50 around 98 nM). ERRs are nuclear receptors that researchers associate with mitochondrial and oxidative metabolism.

What did animal studies report?

In mice, researchers observed increased running endurance, more oxidative type IIa muscle fibers, higher mitochondrial DNA, and—in a diet-induced obesity model—reduced body weight and fat mass with improved insulin sensitivity. These are animal findings only and have not been confirmed in humans.

What is the evidence grade?

Grade C. The available evidence is limited to in-vitro assays and rodent studies. There are no published human trials and no established human pharmacokinetics or safety data.

SLU-PP-332 Dosage, Half-Life & Research

SLU-PP-332 is a synthetic small-molecule agonist of the estrogen-related receptors (ERRα/β/γ), developed at Saint Louis University and studied as a pharmacological “exercise mimetic.”¹ It is supplied strictly for research use only and is not an approved drug for human use. Despite being marketed by some vendors as a “peptide,” SLU-PP-332 is a non-peptide small molecule (C₁₈H₁₄N₂O₂).³ The published evidence is limited to cell-based assays and rodent studies; no human studies have been reported.¹²

Structure

Sequence & identity

Non-peptide small molecule · C₁₈H₁₄N₂O₂ · 290.3 g/mol

Structure and identity per PubChem CID 5338394 (InChIKey RNZIMBFHRXYRLL-XDHOZWIPSA-N).³

What the research shows

Mechanisms studied

Researchers reported that SLU-PP-332 acts as a pan-agonist of the estrogen-related receptors, with highest potency at ERRα (EC₅₀ ≈ 98 nM) and lower potency at ERRβ (≈ 230 nM) and ERRγ (≈ 430 nM).¹ The ERRs are orphan nuclear receptors that researchers describe as regulators of mitochondrial biogenesis and oxidative metabolism. In skeletal-muscle cell lines and in mice, the compound was reported to activate a transcriptional program overlapping with the acute aerobic exercise response and to increase mitochondrial content and cellular respiration.¹

Reported in studies

Dosing in the research literature

The figures below summarise regimens as reported in published research — they are not recommendations or directions for use.

Source / model	Regimen reported	Notes
r1	Mice (in vivo): 50 mg/kg, intraperitoneal, twice daily, for ~7–15 days	Regimen as reported in the ACS Chemical Biology exercise-capacity study (Billon et al., 2023). Animal model only; not a human dosing recommendation.
r2	Mice (diet-induced obesity / metabolic syndrome): 50 mg/kg, twice daily, for 28 days	Regimen as reported in the metabolic-syndrome study (Billon et al., J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2024). Animal model only.
r1	Tissue distribution: at 2 h after a single 30 mg/kg i.p. dose, ~0.6 µM in skeletal muscle and ~0.2 µM in plasma	Pharmacokinetic snapshot from the same study; no formal elimination half-life has been established in published literature.

Research use only. Peptigo products are sold to qualified researchers for laboratory use. This information summarises published research for reference and is not medical advice, a dosing recommendation, or directions for human or animal use.

Reported in studies

Effects observed in research

In the exercise-capacity study, researchers observed that SLU-PP-332-treated mice ran approximately 70% longer and 45% further than vehicle-treated mice, with increased oxidative type IIa muscle fibers, elevated myosin IIA, and higher mitochondrial DNA content.¹ In a separate diet-induced-obesity model, researchers reported decreased body weight (about 12% over 28 days), reduced fat mass and adipocyte size, lower total cholesterol, HDL and triglycerides, increased energy expenditure and fatty-acid oxidation, and improved insulin sensitivity.² All reported effects are from rodent and in-vitro studies; none have been confirmed in humans.

Honest assessment

Strength of evidence

Grade C

Evidence grade C (animal and in-vitro only). The data on SLU-PP-332 come from cell-based receptor and respiration assays and from mouse studies of exercise capacity and metabolic syndrome conducted largely by a single research group.¹² A later medicinal-chemistry paper explored structure–activity relationships and analog optimization.⁴ There are no published human clinical trials, no established human pharmacokinetics, and no long-term safety data. Vendor claims describing it as a “peptide” or implying human benefit are not supported by the primary literature.

Handling

Reconstitution & storage

Reconstitute with bacteriostatic water for laboratory handling. Store lyophilised material frozen and reconstituted material refrigerated. Use Peptigo’s reconstitution calculator and storage cheat sheet for working figures.

References

Billon C, Sitaula S, Banerjee S, et al. Synthetic ERRα/β/γ Agonist Induces an ERRα-Dependent Acute Aerobic Exercise Response and Enhances Exercise Capacity. ACS Chem Biol. 2023;18(4):756–771. doi:10.1021/acschembio.2c00720. PMID:36988910.
Billon C, Schoepke E, Avdagic A, et al. A Synthetic ERR Agonist Alleviates Metabolic Syndrome. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2024;388(2):232–240. doi:10.1124/jpet.123.001733. PMID:37739806.
National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Compound Summary for CID 5338394, SLU-PP-332. InChIKey RNZIMBFHRXYRLL-XDHOZWIPSA-N; CAS 303760-60-3. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/5338394.
Okda HE, Zhao P, Hayes M, et al. Chemical optimization of the exercise mimetic SLU-PP-332 enables insight into estrogen-related receptor signaling. Int J Biol Macromol. 2026;355:151450. doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2026.151450. PMID:41850449. PMC13112601.

Written by the Peptigo Research Team · scientifically reviewed by Peter, Peptigo Research Team · Last reviewed June 2026. We cite primary literature and flag where evidence is limited. Our sourcing & RUO policy →