What is melanotan 2?
Melanotan II was developed at the University of Arizona in the 1980s and 1990s as a more stable analogue of α-MSH. It is a cyclic heptapeptide (Ac-Nle-cyclo[Asp-His-D-Phe-Arg-Trp-Lys]-NH2, 1,024.2 g/mol, CAS 121062-08-6) that activates MC1R in skin pigment cells as well as MC3R and MC4R in the brain.
Research status and reported risks
Research uses melanotan II to study melanocortin signalling such as melanin formation and central effects on appetite and sexual function; PT-141 emerged from this work. No controlled trials have tested it as a medicine. Case reports and authority warnings describe nausea, flushing, new or changing moles and isolated melanomas in connection with tanning injections.
Status
Melanotan II is not approved anywhere. We sell it exclusively as a research reagent for laboratory experiments, not for human use, and give no usage or dosing advice.
Background in the magazine: Melanotan 2, melanotan 1 and PT-141 explained
