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Melanotan II

Peptidesubcutaneous · inferred

Synthetic cyclic heptapeptide melanocortin agonist that non-selectively activates MC1R-MC5R. Primarily used recreationally for skin tanning (MC1R) and sexual arousal (MC3R/MC4R). Plasma half-life ~1 hour. Associated with risks including mole darkening, nausea, and potential melanoma promotion. Not approved by any regulatory agency.

Projected serum levels — 0.50 mg, once daily

Melanotan II
Melanotan II modeled serum levels, 0.50 mg once daily over 15 days Population-based pharmacokinetic estimate. Steady state reached after approximately 1 days. 0 0.25 0.50 0.75 1 Day 0 Day 4 Day 8 Day 11 Day 15 Time on a regular schedule ≈ steady state · day 1

Maintenance schedule: 0.50 mg once daily (subcutaneous).

Modeled steady state after ~1 days: peak ≈ 0.33 mg, trough ≈ 0.000 mg body load. Population-based estimate over 15 days for a 0.50 mg dose at a 70 kg reference body mass — the interactive app scales curves to your doses, timing, and body mass.

Key facts

Category
Peptide
Route modeled
Subcutaneous
Model confidence
inferred
Half-life
58 min
Common dose
0.50 mg
Suggested maximum
1 mg/day
Reference dose range
0.25–1 mg (single dose)
Suggested cadence
once daily

Documented interactions

  • danger
    PT-141 (Bremelanotide) + Melanotan II Stacked effects

    Melanotan II and PT-141 (Bremelanotide) both push the mc1r, mc3r, mc4r, and mc5r in the same direction.

  • moderate
    KPV (Lys-Pro-Val) + Melanotan II Stacked effects

    KPV (Lys-Pro-Val) and Melanotan II both push the mc1r and mc3r in the same direction.

  • watch
    Semax + Melanotan II Stacked effects

    Melanotan II and Semax both push the mc4r in the same direction.

Serum checks 3 modeled interaction pairings for melanotan ii across your whole stack — absorption conflicts, enzyme inhibition, and nutrient depletion included.

Research behind this entry

  1. Evaluation of melanotan-II, a superpotent cyclic melanotropic peptide in a pilot phase-I clinical study Dorr RT et al. · Life Sciences, 1996 DOI

    First human dose-escalation study showing melanotan-II produced dose-dependent skin darkening and facial flushing, establishing basic safety and efficacy as a tanning agent.

  2. A comparison of HPLC and bioassay methods for plasma melanotan-II determination: application to a pharmacokinetic study in rats Ugwu SO et al. · Biopharmaceutics & Drug Disposition, 1994 DOI

    Pharmacokinetic characterization of melanotan-II in rats following IV administration, establishing rapid plasma clearance and distribution.

  3. Activation of the central melanocortin system chronically reduces body mass without the necessity of long-term caloric restriction Kievit P et al. · Diabetes, 2013 DOI

    Demonstrated chronic melanocortin activation via MT-II reduces body weight independently of caloric restriction through increased energy expenditure in non-human primates.

3 published studies referenced in the app, each with a plain-language summary.