Melanotan II

Mechanism

Cyclic peptide activating MC1R, MC3R, MC4R, and MC5R.

Reported effects

What sources associate with this compound. Reported categories, not outcomes we have graded — each would need its own citation and rung.

• Tanning research
• Sexual-function signalling
• Appetite reduction

Figures

Every figure below is replotted by this site from values published in the cited paper's text or tables — the numbers are the study's, the drawing is ours, and the evidence rung on each image is the rung of its source.

Reconstitution

mass ÷ diluent = concentration; dose ÷ concentration = volume; volume × the syringe factor = units on the barrel (100 for U-100, 40 for U-40). Run your own numbers.

Half-life, storage & sport

Elimination half-life

not on file — No published study states an elimination half-life. Two rat studies measured plasma kinetics after intravenous dosing, and Ugwu 1994 names t1/2 beta among its parameters, but neither abstract carries a number and both full texts are paywalled. The one human study, Dorr 1996, was a three-subject subcutaneous pilot that took no pharmacokinetic measurements. Circulated figures span 33 minutes to 34 hours, and the most cited of them, about two hours, traces to a paper that measures no pharmacokinetics at all.

Storage

Lyophilised: Stable at room temperature ~3 weeks; store desiccated below -18C. Reconstituted: 4C for 2-7 days; below -18C for future use; 0.1% HSA/BSA for long term; avoid freeze-thaw. — source. ProSpec technical datasheet. Supplier handling recommendation for research-grade lyophilate, not a per-compound stability study.

In sport (WADA 2026)

Prohibited, at all times — S0 catch-all. the list Not named on the list. No approval by any regulatory health authority for human therapeutic use (unlike afamelanotide/melanotan-I, which is approved).

Reported adverse effects

• Nausea

  Very commononset: Within an hourreported reversible

• Facial flushing

  Commononset: Within an hourreported reversible

• Darkening of existing moles and new nevi

  Reportedonset: Weeks to monthsreversibility not on file

• Spontaneous erections

  Common in malesonset: Hoursreported reversible

Literature on file 8

• in vitro
  Evaluation of Melanotan-II, a superpotent cyclic melanotropic peptide in a pilot phase-I clinical study (Life Sciences 1996, cited 116x) graded on: an in-vitro system — read from the indexed abstract — “in vitro”
• human observational
  Melanocortin receptor agonists, penile erection, and sexual motivation: human studies with Melanotan II (International Journal of Impotence Research 2000, cited 93x) graded on: indexed as a clinical trial, design not stated — “Clinical Trial”
• review or editorial
  Insights into Tanning Biology and Tanning Products. graded on: indexed as "review-article" - secondary literature, not a study — “review-article”
• review or editorial
  Therapeutic Peptides in Aesthetic, Metabolic and Endocrine Conditions: Effects, Safety, Clinical Applications, and Future Perspectives. graded on: indexed as "review-article" - secondary literature, not a study — “review-article”
• review or editorial
  An overview of benefits and risks of chronic melanocortin-1 receptor activation. graded on: indexed as "review-article" - secondary literature, not a study — “review-article”
• animal in vivo
  Antidepressant-like and antistress effects of the ACTH(4-10) synthetic analogs Semax and Melanotan II on male rats in a model of chronic unpredictable stress. graded on: an animal model — “rats”
• human case series
  Changes in Oral Mucosa Associated with Melanotan II Injections: A Case Report. graded on: a case report or series — “Case Report”

Not graded

1 citation whose study design could not be read from the title. Left ungraded rather than guessed at.

• not graded
  NCT07437560: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Phase 2 Study of Melanotan II (Synthetic Cyclic Melanocortin Receptor Agonist) as an Adjunct to Narrowband UV-B Phototherapy in Adults With Stable Nonsegmental Vitiligo graded on: NCT07437560 is recruiting and has posted no results - a registration, not a reported outcome — “NCT07437560”

What is circulated not evidence 5

Claims passed around in community guides and vendor copy, recorded because they circulate — not because they are true. Each is shown with the page it was read from and what this record actually holds. Checked 2026-08-24.

• unverified community data titration ubiquitous nothing on file either way

  A loading phase of 0.25 mg daily for 7 to 14 days, rising to 0.5 mg if tolerated, is circulated as the standard way to start melanotan II.

  0.25 mg daily for a 7 to 14 day loading phase, increasing to 0.5 mg if tolerated

  On the record The record holds 250-500 mcg daily and marks it unverified. No loading or maintenance phase structure is on file, and the compound holds no approval anywhere, so the entire phase protocol is community-generated.

  Source 1

• unverified community data dose common nothing on file either way

  Maintenance dosing scaled by Fitzpatrick skin type — from 0.5 mg twice weekly for very fair skin down to 0.5 mg every 2-3 weeks for dark skin — is circulated as an established chart.

  Type I-II: 0.5 mg twice per week - Type III-IV: 0.5 mg once per week - Type V-VI: 0.5 mg every 2-3 weeks

  On the record Nothing on file. The corpus holds no maintenance schedule and no skin-type stratification; no study of maintenance dosing by skin type exists in the record.

  Source 1

• unverified community data side effect common nothing on file either way

  It is circulated that nausea affects 80-90% of users and resolves after the first few days of use.

  Nausea affects 80-90% of users but typically resolves after 3-5 days

  On the record The corpus records nausea as "Very common", onset within an hour, reversible. No percentage figure and no tolerance-over-days claim is on file; the 80-90% number has no cited source on the page.

  Source 1

• unverified community data storage common agrees with the record

  A reconstitution convention — 10 mg vial plus 2 mL bacteriostatic water, so 10 units on an insulin syringe equals 0.5 mg — circulates as the standard mix.

  10 mg vial + 2 mL bacteriostatic water = 5 mg/mL concentration - At this concentration: 0.1 mL (10 units on an insulin syringe) = 0.5 mg

  On the record The corpus reconstitution row uses a 2 mg vial in 2 mL (1000 mcg/mL, 250 mcg = 25 units). The community convention assumes the 10 mg vials vendors actually sell. The arithmetic in the quote is internally correct.

  Source 1

• unverified community data sourcing ubiquitous nothing on file either way

  Melanotan II is dosed and injected widely although it holds no marketing approval in any country; every dosing figure in circulation is community-generated.

  0.25 mg daily for a 7 to 14 day loading phase, increasing to 0.5 mg if tolerated

  On the record The record shows no FDA approval, and documents mole darkening and new nevi as an irreversible reported effect. Its own dosing figure is marked unverified, because there is no approved or trial-derived dose to verify it against.

  Source 1

Identity

PubChem CID 92432 computed 3D conformer

Skeletal formulathe canonical depiction

Drawn by PubChem from CID 92432, the identifier on this record.

Molecular weight

1024.2

Molecular formula

C50H69N15O9

PubChem CID

92432

InChI key

JDKLPDJLXHXHNV-MFVUMRCOSA-N

Sequence

XDHFRWK

SMILES

CCCC[C@@H](C(=O)N[C@H]1CC(=O)NCCCC[C@H](NC(=O)[C@@H](NC(=O)[C@@H](NC(=O)[C@H](NC(=O)[C@@H](NC1=O)CC2=CN=CN2)CC3=CC=CC=C3)CCCN=C(N)N)CC4=CNC5=CC=CC=C54)C(=O)N)NC(=O)C

InChI

InChI=1S/C50H69N15O9/c1-3-4-16-36(59-29(2)66)44(69)65-41-25-42(67)55-20-11-10-18-35(43(51)68)60-47(72)39(23-31-26-57-34-17-9-8-15-33(31)34)63-45(70)37(19-12-21-56-50(52)53)61-46(71)38(22-30-13-6-5-7-14-30)62-48(73)40(64-49(41)74)24-32-27-54-28-58-32/h5-9,13-15,17,26-28,35-41,57H,3-4,10-12,16,18-25H2,1-2H3,(H2,51,68)(H,54,58)(H,55,67)(H,59,66)(H,60,72)(H,61,71)(H,62,73)(H,63,70)(H,64,74)(H,65,69)(H4,52,53,56)/t35-,36-,37-,38+,39-,40-,41-/m0/s1

Classified as

Melanocortin Receptor Agonismmechanism

A record listing only melanocortin agonism with no receptor subtype is underspecified. Pigmentation, appetite and arousal come from different receptors, so a claim graded for one says nothing about the others.

Subcutaneousroute

This is the route the reconstitution arithmetic assumes. Mass divided by diluent volume gives concentration, dose divided by concentration gives volume, and volume in mL multiplied by 100 gives units on a U-100 barrel: 5 mg in 2 mL is 2.5 mg/mL, and 0.25 mg comes out at 0.1 mL, which is 10 units.

Also called

• DTXCID3075626
• DTXSID90153135
• Melanotan II
• Melanotan II (Mood)
• melanotan 2
• mt 2
• melanotan 2 mt 2
• mt 2 melanotan 2
• melanotan 2 –

Listed prices 209

What 169 shops we track listed for Melanotan II, read from their own public catalogues on 2026-09-14. We take no commission on these and they are not ranked by any payment — how vendors are scored.

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