RX Melanotan 2

Melanotan 2 References: The Cited Literature

About these Melanotan 2 references

Every quantitative claim on this site maps to a numbered source below. The list leads with the human sexual-function and pigmentation studies, then the mechanism work, then the safety case reports and the regulatory and product-quality literature. Links resolve to PubMed; DOIs are given where available. This is the literature the digest is built from.

  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. 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. ↗
  3. Hadley ME, Dorr RT. Melanocortin peptide therapeutics: historical milestones, clinical studies and commercialization. Peptides. 2006;27(4):921-930. ↗
  4. 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. ↗
  5. 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. ↗
  6. Bonchev A. Changes in Oral Mucosa Associated with Melanotan II Injections: A Case Report. Life (Basel). 2026;16(2):265. ↗
  7. Bloemers J, et al. Melanocortin 4 receptor agonism enhances sexual brain processing in women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder. J Clin Invest. 2022;132(19):e152341. ↗
  8. Rossler AS, Pfaus JG, Kia HK, Bernabe J, Alexandre L, Giuliano F. The melanocortin agonist, melanotan II, enhances proceptive sexual behaviors in the female rat. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2006;85(3):514-521. ↗
  9. Allard J, Giuliano F. Central nervous system agents in the treatment of erectile dysfunction: how do they work? Curr Urol Rep. 2001;2:488-494. ↗
  10. Giuliano F, Clément P, Droupy S, Alexandre L, Bernabé J. Melanotan-II: investigation of the inducer and facilitator effects on penile erection in anaesthetized rat. Neuroscience. 2006;138:293-301. ↗
  11. 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. ↗
  12. 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. ↗
  13. 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. (Reviewed in melanocortin sexual-dysfunction literature.) ↗
  14. Lan KK, et al. Preformulation studies with melanotan-II: a potential skin cancer chemopreventive peptide. 1994. ↗
  15. Strom MA, et al. Alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH): biology, clinical relevance and implication in melanoma. J Transl Med. 2023;21(1):562. ↗
  16. Cousen P, Colver G, Helbling I. Eruptive dysplastic nevi following melanotan use. 2012. ↗
  17. Changes of melanocytic lesions induced by Melanotan injections and sun bed use in a teenage patient with FAMMM syndrome. 2012. ↗
  18. Eruptive melanocytic naevi following melanotan injection. 2009. ↗
  19. Cardones AR, Grichnik JM. alpha-Melanocyte-stimulating hormone-induced eruptive nevi. 2009. ↗
  20. Eruptive naevi and darkening of pre-existing naevi 24 h after a single mono-dose injection of melanotan II. 2014. ↗
  21. Melanotan-associated melanoma. 2011. ↗
  22. Mazzarino M, et al. Barbie drug identification: not a child's play. J Forensic Sci. 2024. ↗
  23. Dermoscopic changes in melanocytic nevi during use of melanotan II. 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. Habbema L, et al. Risks of unregulated use of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone analogues: a review. 2017. ↗
  30. The unregulated use of melanotan-II is of public health interest to Australian dermatologists. 2017. ↗
  31. Hemodynamic actions and mechanisms of systemically administered alpha-MSH analogs in mice. 2012. ↗
  32. Systemic but not central nervous system nitric oxide synthase inhibition exacerbates the hypertensive effects of chronic melanocortin-3/4 receptor activation. 2011. ↗
  33. Melanotan II User Experience: A Qualitative Study of Online Discussion Forums. 2021. ↗
  34. The 'Barbie Drug'—marketing and perceptions of melanotan on social media. 2025. ↗
  35. Identification and characterization by LC-UV-MS/MS of melanotan II skin-tanning products sold illegally on the Internet. 2015. ↗
  36. 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. ↗
  37. Melanotropic peptides: more than just 'Barbie drugs' and 'sun-tan jabs'? 2010. ↗