Melanotan II
NOT FDA APPROVEDMelanocortin receptor agonist (tanning)
Also known as: MT-II, MT2
Not FDA approved. Sold gray-market for tanning. Regulators (including Australia's TGA) have issued consumer warnings.
Early evidence, mostly unproven in humans
- Regulatory standing. Sold as a research chemical, not approved
- Limited human data. Some human data exists, not conclusive
- Registered human trials. 1 registered study on ClinicalTrials.gov, most advanced Phase 2
- 2 cited sources. Includes primary / regulatory sources
A read on the weight of evidence and regulatory standing behind this compound. It is not a safety score, not a purity or quality rating, and not medical advice. It is not a claim that this compound treats, cures, or prevents any condition, and not an endorsement or a recommendation to buy or use it. A low score means the evidence is thin — not that a product is unsafe; a high score means the evidence is strong — not that anyone should take it. PLOBT is independent and takes no money from any vendor; no company can pay to change this score.
Proven: it does darken skin by stimulating melanin, and it affects libido and appetite. The safety picture is the problem: unregulated purity, nausea and blood-pressure effects, and reports of new or changing moles. Long-term safety is not established.
What it is
A non-selective melanocortin agonist that stimulates melanin production (tanning) and also acts on desire and appetite pathways.
What the research says
It does stimulate melanin. Note: broad melanocortin-1 receptor activation has not been clearly linked to increased melanoma in review, but safety concerns remain.
Commonly reported side effects, not approved uses.
Published literature
Live from Europe PMC. Peer-reviewed papers discussing Melanotan II in their title or abstract, most-cited first. This is how much has been published — not how much is proven in humans. It counts landmark trials, animal studies and reviews alike.
Sympathetic and sensory innervation of brown adipose tissue.
Role of the melanocortin-4 receptor in metabolic rate and food intake in mice.
Oxytocin deficiency mediates hyperphagic obesity of Sim1 haploinsufficient mice.
Differential activation of the sympathetic innervation of adipose tissues by melanocortin receptor stimulation.
Registered human trials
Live from ClinicalTrials.gov, the US NIH registry of human studies, refreshed daily. Counts studies where Melanotan II is the intervention being tested.
FDA recalls & enforcement
Melanotan II has no FDA recall or drug record at all — because it is not an FDA-regulated drug. That absence is not a safety signal. It means this compound is sold outside the system that inspects, tracks and recalls unsafe products in the first place.
Source: openFDA drug enforcement.
What people log it for
Descriptive, based on what users track. Not an endorsement or a suggested use.
Risks & unknowns
- Unregulated purity; regulators have warned consumers against it.
- Nausea, flushing and blood-pressure changes.
- Reports of new and changing moles; monitor skin carefully.
Doses reported in studies & protocols
No established safe dose. This is not a recommendation.
Purity reality
Entirely gray-market; assume content is unverified.
None yet. PLOBT does not publish invented purity numbers. Real third-party COA data, mapped to vendor and batch, is in development — and it is the one thing we refuse to fake.
Sources
- Böhm et al., benefits & risks of chronic MC1R activation, 2024 (PMC/NIH)
- UNSW Sydney: what is Melanotan-II (TGA warning)
We cite peer-reviewed journals, PubMed/PMC, FDA and university sources, not vendor marketing.