Melanotan Research

SOURCES / THE BIBLIOGRAPHY

Melanotan 2 references: every claim, traced to its study

Peer-reviewed papers, case reports, and reviews. Each entry links to its PubMed record.

Back to the researchThe safety review

How to read this list

Every numbered citation across this Melanotan 2 site resolves to an entry below. Each is a real, published source with a PubMed link; quantitative claims — doses, response rates, durations — map to the study that reported them. Where a finding rests on case reports, the citation makes that clear, because a case report shows a harm is possible, not how common it is. This is the evidence base; the rest of the site is a plain-English reading of it.

  1. Hadley ME, Dorr RT. Melanocortin peptide therapeutics: historical milestones, clinical studies and commercialization. Peptides. 2006;27(4):921-930. ↗
  2. Hadley ME, Hruby VJ, Blanchard J, Dorr RT, Levine N, Dawson BV, al-Obeidi F, Sawyer TK. Discovery and development of novel melanogenic drugs. Melanotan-I and -II. Pharm Biotechnol. 1998;11:575-595. ↗
  3. 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. ↗
  4. 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. ↗
  5. Biolcati G, Marchesini E, Sorge F, Barbieri L, Schneider-Yin X, Minder EI. Long-term observational study of afamelanotide in 115 patients with erythropoietic protoporphyria. Br J Dermatol. 2015;172(6):1601-1612. ↗
  6. Molinoff PB, et al. PT-141: a melanocortin agonist for the treatment of sexual dysfunction. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2003;994:96-102. ↗
  7. 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. ↗
  8. Ugwu SO, Blanchard J. High-performance liquid chromatographic assay for the alpha-melanotropin[4,10] fragment analogue (Melanotan-II) in rat plasma. J Chromatogr. 1992;584:175-180. ↗
  9. 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. ↗
  10. Langan EA, Ramlogan D, Jamieson LA, Rhodes LE. Change in moles linked to use of unlicensed "sun tan jab". BMJ. 2009;338:b277. ↗
  11. Mazzarino M, et al. Barbie drug identification: Not a child's play. J Forensic Sci. 2024;69(6). ↗
  12. Gilhooley E, Daly S, McKenna D. Melanotan II User Experience: A Qualitative Study of Online Discussion Forums. Dermatology. 2021;237(6):1015-1020. ↗
  13. Strom MA, et al. Alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH): biology, clinical relevance and implication in melanoma. J Transl Med. 2023;21(1):562. ↗
  14. Affleck A. Consider underlying body dysmorphic disorder in users of melanotan. Br J Dermatol. 2010;162(2):459-460. ↗
  15. Cardones AR, Grichnik JM. alpha-Melanocyte-stimulating hormone-induced eruptive nevi. Arch Dermatol. 2009;145(4):441-444. ↗
  16. Paurobally D, et al. Melanotan-associated melanoma. Br J Dermatol. 2011;164(6):1403-1405. ↗
  17. Cousen P, Colver G, Helbling I. Dermoscopic changes in melanocytic nevi during use of melanotan II. Clin Exp Dermatol. 2012;37(8):918-920. ↗
  18. Hjuler KF, Lorentzen HF. Melanotan II injection resulting in systemic toxicity and rhabdomyolysis. Clin Exp Dermatol. 2012;37(8):831-833. ↗
  19. Rambhatla PV, et al. Melanotan II overdose associated with priapism. Am J Emerg Med. 2013;31(7):1014.e1-2. ↗
  20. Saber A, et al. Melanotan Tanning Injection: A Rare Cause of Priapism. Cureus. 2021;13(1):e12527. ↗
  21. King SH, et al. Melanotan-induced priapism: a hard-earned tan. BMJ Case Rep. 2019;12(2):e227644. ↗
  22. Devlin M, et al. Melanotan and the posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome. Pract Neurol. 2013;13(4):260-262. ↗
  23. Greenfield JR, et al. Hemodynamic actions and mechanisms of systemically administered alpha-MSH analogs in mice. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2012;303(10):E1213-E1220. ↗
  24. Greenfield JR, et al. Systemic but not central nervous system nitric oxide synthase inhibition exacerbates the hypertensive effects of chronic melanocortin-3/4 receptor activation. Hypertension. 2011;57(3):488-493. ↗
  25. Breindahl T, 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;7(2):164-172. ↗
  26. Janvier S, et al. Operation resistance: A snapshot of falsified antibiotics and biopharmaceutical injectables in Europe. Drug Test Anal. 2016;8(5-6):597-606. ↗
  27. Habbema L, et al. Risks of unregulated use of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone analogues: a review. Int J Dermatol. 2017;56(10):975-980. ↗
  28. Mackie A, et al. The unregulated use of melanotan-II is of public health interest to Australian dermatologists. Australas J Dermatol. 2018;59(2):e155-e156. ↗
  29. Walters AE, Myrdal PB, Pinsuwan S, Manka AM, Yalkowsky SH. Determination of melanotan II in rabbit urine using solid-phase extraction sample preparation followed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. J Chromatogr B Biomed Sci Appl. 1997;690(1-2):99-103. ↗
  30. Evans-Brown M, et al. Melanotropic peptides: more than just 'Barbie drugs' and 'sun-tan jabs'? Br J Dermatol. 2010;162(2):238-239. ↗
  31. Bonchev A. Changes in Oral Mucosa Associated with Melanotan II Injections: A Case Report. Life (Basel). 2026;16(2):265. ↗
  32. Ugwu SO, Blanchard J, Dorr RT, Levine N, Brooks C, Hadley ME, Aickin M, Hruby VJ. A comparison of HPLC and bioassay methods for plasma melanotan-II (MT-II) determination: application to a pharmacokinetic study in rats. Pharm Res. 1994;11(10):1486-1491. ↗
  33. Molinoff PB, Shadiack AM, Earle D, Diamond LE, Quon CY. PT-141: a melanocortin agonist for the treatment of sexual dysfunction. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2003;994:96-102. ↗
  34. Mazzarino M, et al. Barbie drug identification: Not a child's play. J Forensic Sci. 2024;69(6). ↗
  35. Ong S, Bowling J. Changes of melanocytic lesions induced by Melanotan injections and sun bed use in a teenage patient with FAMMM syndrome. Dermatol Pract Concept. 2012;2(3):203a09. ↗