How does melanotan 1 work?

Melanotan I, also called afamelanotide and sold as Scenesse, agonizes the melanocortin-1 receptor to stimulate eumelanin and increase photoprotective skin pigmentation. Half-life on this site's profile is about 30 minutes; the approved product is a sustained-release implant. Molecular weight is 1,646.9 daltons. Two randomized trials, 74 people in Europe and 94 in the United States, found longer pain-free sun exposure with afamelanotide implants (US median 69.4 versus 40.8 hours; EU 6.0 versus 0.8 hours) and fewer phototoxic reactions in adults with erythropoietic protoporphyria. FDA approval in October 2019, as a 16 mg implant, is for that rare indication in adults with a history of phototoxic reactions, not for cosmetic tanning. A research-chemical vial labeled melanotan 1 is not Scenesse. This FAQ does not invent a dose. Full record at /compounds/melanotan-1.

Educational use only. This database summarizes published research and is not medical advice. Where a dose appears it is a record of what a trial or clinic ran, or what people describe doing, with its source attached. Nothing here is a recommendation for personal use.

Part of sexual health and hormone peptides. PT-141, melanotan, oxytocin, gonadorelin, and kisspeptin-10.