Skip to content
Reviews MT2

An evidence-first reading of the Melanotan 2 pigmentation literature — what the melanogenesis studies actually report.

Which paper can your doctor find?

Which papers report what happened with Melanotan 2?

The Arizona team began with a tanning idea. The list below names the small studies and doctor reports that followed.

Return to the study guideSee the effects page

How can this source list help your doctor?

The Arizona team first made the drug to study tanning. What came after included animal work, two small tests in people, and reports from doctors. A number such as [1] or [2] isn't the paper itself; it matches the full paper title below. I'd bring that title, not just the number, when a claim worries you.

Some papers concern Melanotan I or PT-141, an early name for bremelanotide. Their results don't prove the same thing for Melanotan 2. PubMed is a free public library of medical paper titles and summaries. Its summary won't always use words that feel plain to you.

  1. Dorr RT, Lines R, Levine N, Brooks C, Xiang L, Hruby VJ, Hadley ME. Evaluation of melanotan-II, a superpotent cyclic melanotropic peptide in a pilot phase-I clinical study. Life Sci. 1996;58(20):1777-1784. ↗
  2. Peters B, Hadimeri H, Wahlberg R, Afghahi H. Melanotan II: a possible cause of renal infarction: review of the literature and case report. CEN Case Rep. 2020;9(2):159-161. ↗
  3. Hadley ME, Dorr RT. Melanocortin peptide therapeutics: historical milestones, clinical studies and commercialization. Peptides. 2006;27(4):921-930. ↗
  4. Dorr RT, Ertl G, Levine N, Brooks C, Bangert JL, Powell MB, Humphrey S, Alberts DS. Effects of a superpotent melanotropic peptide in combination with solar UV radiation on tanning of the skin in human volunteers. Arch Dermatol. 2004;140(7):827-835. ↗
  5. Hagedorn N, et al. Identification and characterization by LC-UV-MS/MS of melanotan II skin-tanning products sold illegally on the Internet. (Drug Test Anal). 2015. ↗
  6. LC-HRMS characterization of the skin pigmentation and sexual enhancers melanotan II and bremelanotide sold on the black market of performance and image enhancing drugs. 2021. ↗
  7. Operation resistance: A snapshot of falsified antibiotics and biopharmaceutical injectables in Europe. 2016. ↗
  8. Falsification of biotechnology drugs: current dangers and/or future disasters? 2018. ↗
  9. Cardones AR, Grichnik JM. alpha-Melanocyte-stimulating hormone-induced eruptive nevi. Arch Dermatol. 2009;145(4):441-444. ↗
  10. Thestrup-Pedersen K, Søndergaard K. [Melanotan-induced lentigines and nevi]. Ugeskr Laeger. 2011;173:975. ↗
  11. Melanotan II User Experience: A Qualitative Study of Online Discussion Forums. 2021. ↗
  12. The 'Barbie Drug'-marketing and perceptions of melanotan on social media. 2025. ↗
  13. Van Hout MC, Brennan R. An in-depth case examination of an exotic dancer's experience of melanotan. Int J Drug Policy. 2014;25:444-450. ↗
  14. Hemodynamic actions and mechanisms of systemically administered α-MSH analogs in mice. 2012. ↗
  15. Assessment of the aversive consequences of acute and chronic administration of the melanocortin agonist, MTII. 2003. ↗
  16. Eruptive dysplastic nevi following melanotan use. 2012. ↗
  17. Eruptive melanocytic naevi following melanotan injection. 2009. ↗
  18. Eruptive naevi and darkening of pre-existing naevi 24 h after a single mono-dose injection of melanotan II. 2014. ↗
  19. Dermoscopic changes in melanocytic nevi during use of melanotan II. 2012. ↗
  20. Systemic but not central nervous system nitric oxide synthase inhibition exacerbates the hypertensive effects of chronic melanocortin-3/4 receptor activation. 2011. ↗
  21. Melanotan-associated melanoma. 2011. ↗
  22. Melanotan-associated melanoma in situ. 2012. ↗
  23. Changes of melanocytic lesions induced by Melanotan injections and sun bed use in a teenage patient with FAMMM syndrome. 2012. ↗
  24. Melanotan II injection resulting in systemic toxicity and rhabdomyolysis. 2012. ↗
  25. Melanotan II overdose associated with priapism. 2013. ↗
  26. Melanotan Tanning Injection: A Rare Cause of Priapism. 2021. ↗
  27. Melanotan-induced priapism: a hard-earned tan. 2019. ↗
  28. Melanotan and the posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome. 2013. ↗
  29. Afamelanotide for Erythropoietic Protoporphyria. 2015. ↗
  30. Long-term observational study of afamelanotide in 115 patients with erythropoietic protoporphyria. 2015. ↗
  31. PT-141: a melanocortin agonist for the treatment of sexual dysfunction. 2003. ↗
  32. Wessells H, Fuciarelli K, Hansen J, Hadley ME, Hruby VJ, Dorr R, Levine N. Synthetic melanotropic peptide initiates erections in men with psychogenic erectile dysfunction: double-blind, placebo controlled crossover study. J Urol. 1998;160(2):389-393. ↗
  33. Skin pigmentation and pharmacokinetics of melanotan-I in humans. 1997. ↗
  34. Risks of unregulated use of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone analogues: a review. 2017. ↗
  35. The unregulated use of melanotan-II is of public health interest to Australian dermatologists. 2017. ↗
  36. Brennan R, et al. Melanotropic peptides: more than just 'Barbie drugs' and 'sun-tan jabs'? Br J Dermatol. 2010. ↗
  37. Eliason NL, Martin L, Low MJ, Sharpe AL. Melanocortin receptor agonist melanotan-II microinjected in the nucleus accumbens decreases appetitive and consumptive responding for food. Neuropeptides. 2022;96:102289. ↗
  38. van den Heuvel JK, Eggels L, van Rozen AJ, Fliers E, Kalsbeek A, Adan RA, la Fleur SE. Inhibitory Effect of the Melanocortin Receptor Agonist Melanotan-II (MTII) on Feeding Depends on Dietary Fat Content and not Obesity in Rats on Free-Choice Diets. Front Behav Neurosci. 2015;9:358. ↗