home / compounds / Melanotan II
Melanotan II
MT-II, MT-2
REC PPT-MELANOTAN-2 // REV 2026-10-04 // assessment changes are logged, never silent
A melanocortin receptor agonist never approved by any regulator; the approved melanotan is the other one — melanotan-1 (afamelanotide).
What it is
A synthetic cyclic 7-amino-acid analogue of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, acting without selectivity across melanocortin receptors including MC1R, MC3R and MC4R. It is a different molecule from melanotan-1 (afamelanotide), a linear 13-amino-acid analogue approved as Scenesse by the EMA in 2014 and by the FDA in 2019 for erythropoietic protoporphyria; melanotan II holds no such approval anywhere.
What it does
Studied for melanogenesis through MC1R activation, and — as a consequence of its lack of selectivity — for appetite and erectile responses mediated by MC3R and MC4R. Outside the laboratory it circulates almost entirely as an unregulated cosmetic tanning agent.
Does it work?
Europe PMC returns 648 publications, yet registered interventional work amounts to a single study: a Phase 2 randomised, placebo-controlled trial of MT-II alongside narrowband UV-B phototherapy in stable nonsegmental vitiligo (NCT07437560, 60 participants, recruiting since February 2026, no results posted). The substantive human literature is therefore adverse-event reporting rather than efficacy data — published case reports describe eruptive and darkening melanocytic naevi, melanoma in users, rhabdomyolysis with sympathomimetic toxicity after a single injection, refractory priapism, and posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome. Case reports establish a temporal association and a plausible mechanism, not causation, and the preparations involved were unregulated products of unverified content, which the Australian regulator documents as a hazard in its own right.
Claims vs data
Each marketing claim, tagged by what the evidence actually supports.
| Produces skin darkening through melanocortin-1 receptor activation | partially true |
| It is the same compound as the approved melanotan sold as Scenesse | overreach |
| Tanning with it protects the skin against sun damage | overreach |
| Has been associated in case reports with changes in existing moles and with new melanocytic lesions | supported |
Reference figures
Quoted from published reference material. These are not Peptuity recommendations.
molecular data — PubChem CID 92432
The evidence, counted
Live counts from Europe PMC and ClinicalTrials.gov.
660 publications indexed, but only 3 randomised controlled trials and 1 registered interventional studies. Human evidence exists but is thin.
SRC // EUROPE PMC + CTGOV // "Melanotan II" // FETCHED 2026-10-04 // 660 RECORDS
Most-cited literature
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[01]
Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1)
Müller TD, Finan B, Bloom SR, D'Alessio D, Drucker DJ, Flatt PR, Frits · Mol Metab 2019 · 1484 citations · DOI 10.1016/j.molmet.2019.09.010
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[02]
The melanocortin-4 receptor: physiology, pharmacology, and pathophysiology
Tao YX. · Endocr Rev 2010 · 421 citations · DOI 10.1210/er.2009-0037
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[03]
AMPK is essential for energy homeostasis regulation and glucose sensing by POMC and AgRP neurons
Claret M, Smith MA, Batterham RL, Selman C, Choudhury AI, Fryer LG, Cl · J Clin Invest 2007 · 416 citations · DOI 10.1172/jci31516
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[04]
Central neural regulation of brown adipose tissue thermogenesis and energy expenditure
Morrison SF, Madden CJ, Tupone D. · Cell Metab 2014 · 371 citations · DOI 10.1016/j.cmet.2014.02.007
Regulatory status
Formal, dated regulatory actions.
WADA — Prohibited List 2026
Prohibited in sport — WADA S0 (substance without any health-authority approval)
Australia TGA 2025-01
Melanotan is not approved for sale or use as a tanning agent in Australia. Supplying tanning products containing melanotan without a doctor's prescription is unlawful, as is advertising melanotan to the Australian public. The TGA also states that no tan protects skin against sun damage.
Australia TGA 2026-08
Safety advisory: melanotan II is a prescription-only medicine in Australia and is not approved for use as a tanning agent; no product containing it is included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods. Seized nasal sprays labelled 30 mg were assayed at between 22 mg and 54 mg per bottle.
Common questions
How does melanotan II differ from melanotan-1?
They are different molecules with different regulatory standing. Melanotan-1 (afamelanotide) is a linear 13-amino-acid analogue of alpha-MSH, approved as Scenesse by the EMA in 2014 and by the FDA in 2019 for erythropoietic protoporphyria. Melanotan II is a cyclic 7-amino-acid analogue acting across several melanocortin receptors, and no regulator has ever approved it. The names are close enough that the two are routinely conflated; the approval belongs to the other one.
Is melanotan II approved anywhere?
No. Australia's TGA states that no product containing melanotan II is included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods or approved for supply, and that melanotan is not approved for sale or use as a tanning agent there. We are not aware of an approval by any other regulator.
Do the case reports show that melanotan II causes melanoma?
No. Case reports document that individuals developed eruptive or changing melanocytic naevi and, in some instances, melanoma after use; several of those individuals also used sunbeds or carried melanoma risk factors. That establishes a temporal association and a plausible mechanism, not causation. No controlled study has measured melanoma incidence among users.
Is it prohibited in sport?
The 2026 WADA Prohibited List does not name melanotan or melanocortin agonists anywhere in its text. It is nevertheless captured by section S0, which prohibits at all times any pharmacological substance not addressed elsewhere on the list and holding no current approval by any governmental regulatory health authority for human therapeutic use.
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