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Dosage information

Melanotan 2 dosage

No human dose of Melanotan 2 (MT2) is established or approved.12 The only published trial doses come from three small University of Arizona studies (1996 to 2000) that gave 3 to 10 men each a few weight-based injections, at 0.01 to 0.03 mg/kg.3457 They are research doses, not guidance for anyone.

This page summarizes published sources for information only. It is not medical advice and does not tell anyone to use a product. Questions about your own health belong with a licensed clinician. For questions about an order or a product, contact us.

No human dose is established

MT2 has no FDA-approved label, so no reviewed document sets a dose, schedule or route for people.1 The only published trial doses come from three small University of Arizona studies from 1996 to 2000, with 3 to 10 men each.35146 A 2026 review of injectable peptides states that MT2 lacks an established human safety profile, and lists inaccurate dosing and cardiovascular stress among the risks of unapproved peptides.2 The figures below record what researchers gave in those studies. They are not guidance for anyone.

Doses used in human studies

Study Who took part Route Dose and schedule What was seen
Pilot phase 1 study, 1996 3 healthy men Injection under the skin Started at 0.01 mg/kg and rose in 0.005 mg/kg steps to 0.025 mg/kg (1 man) or 0.03 mg/kg (2 men), alternating with saline on weekdays for 2 weeks, for five MT2 doses3417 Darker skin in 2 of 3 men 1 week after the last dose; mild nausea at most dose levels813
Crossover trial, 1998 10 men with psychogenic erectile dysfunction Injection (route not stated in the abstract) 0.025 mg/kg per injection, against placebo67 Clinically apparent erections in 8 of 10 men14
Crossover trial, 2000 10 men with physical risk factors for erectile dysfunction Injection under the skin 0.025 mg/kg given twice, and vehicle twice5 Erections after 12 of 19 MT2 injections against 1 of 21 placebo doses; severe nausea after 4 of 19 injections1516

The pilot study raised the dose step by step.4 At 0.03 mg/kg, 1 of the 2 men who reached that dose had grade II sleepiness and fatigue on the WHO scale.4 The authors then proposed 0.025 mg/kg as the single dose for future phase 1 studies, a design choice for later trials rather than a dose for anyone.17 Both erectile dysfunction trials used 0.025 mg/kg. Across their 20 men, nausea and yawning were frequent, and 12.9% of subjects had severe nausea at that dose.7

Amounts outside any study

Case reports describe people injecting products bought online in amounts unrelated to these trials.18 A 39-year-old man who injected 6 mg of MT2 to darken his skin in winter developed a heart rate that peaked at 146 beats per minute, then muscle breakdown (rhabdomyolysis) and kidney dysfunction.181920 FDA's compounding safety page lists sympathomimetic toxidrome among the serious events in published MT2 case reports.21

Doses used in animal studies

  • Rats (2011): 10 ng per hour infused into the brain ventricles for 10 days raised mean arterial pressure by about 9 mm Hg and heart rate by about 27 beats per minute. Food intake fell 50% to 58% over the first 6 days across the MT2 groups, one of which also received a nitric oxide blocker.2223
  • Mice (1997): MT2 injected into the brain ventricles cut feeding in four models of overeating.24
  • Mice (2012): MT2 given into the body raised blood pressure and heart rate in step with the dose, and an MC3/MC4 receptor blocker abolished the effect.25
  • Rats (2017): MT2 given into a vein activated hypothalamic neurons, while MT2 given by nose did not.26

Animal doses and routes do not carry over to people, and infusions into the brain are a separate case again: a 2003 rat study found MT2 has very limited brain penetration after injection into a vein.11

What a 10 mg Melanotan 2 vial holds

The 10 mg on a vial label is the amount of freeze-dried peptide the vial is meant to contain, not a dose. Independent testing shows the real amount can be lower. In a 2015 study, MT2 vials bought from online shops that each claimed 10 mg held 4.32 to 8.84 mg, and vials from two shops contained 4.1% to 5.9% unknown impurities.2728 In 2024 a Belgian forensic laboratory measured 30% purity in powder from vials labeled Melanotan II.29 A purity percentage alone does not show how many milligrams a vial holds; that takes a quantity (assay) result. Powder weight is not peptide weight either. Peptide maker Bachem notes that a freeze-dried peptide solid may be only 70 to 90% peptide, because it also holds counter-ions (such as acetate or trifluoroacetate) and residual moisture.30 Lab handling of a freeze-dried vial (diluent, sterile technique, concentration math) is covered in the reconstitution guide.

The full profile, with side effects and regulatory status, is What is Melanotan 2?. Research on other peptides people search for skin color is summarized in Peptides and tanning.

More on Melanotan 2

Melanotan 2 in the store

Melanotan 2 for sale: strengths, stock and shipping are on the product page.

For research use only. Not for human or veterinary use. Read the research use policy.

Frequently asked questions

What dose of Melanotan 2 was used in studies?

Weight-based doses of 0.01 to 0.03 mg/kg.34 The 1996 pilot study raised the dose step by step over five injections under the skin in 3 healthy men, and the two erectile dysfunction trials gave 0.025 mg/kg per injection to 10 men each.417567 Nausea was common, and severe in 12.9% of subjects at 0.025 mg/kg.7 These figures describe study conditions, not a dose for any person.

Is there an approved Melanotan 2 dose for tanning?

No. FDA has not approved MT2 for any use, so no label sets a dose for tanning or anything else.1 The only controlled human tanning data we found come from the 1996 pilot study, in which 2 of 3 men had darker skin 1 week after a 2-week course of injections.38 FDA's 2007 warning targeted the illegal marketing of Melanotan II as a tanning agent and as a skin cancer preventive.9

Do the dosing schedules posted online come from studies?

Not any we could trace. The schedules that circulate on seller pages, with fixed microgram amounts on set days, match no published MT2 study we found; the studies used weight-based doses given once or a few times.45 A 2026 urology review warns that MT2 is still sold through unregulated markets, raising concerns about product quality, dosing variability and incompletely characterized adverse effects.10

Is the half-life of Melanotan 2 known in people?

Not from any published human data we found. The sources reviewed for this page hold only animal data on how MT2 behaves in the body, and they disagree on whether it enters the brain: a 2003 rat study found very limited brain penetration after injection into a vein, while a 2015 vole study calls it brain penetrant.1112 Without human pharmacokinetic data, there is no basis for timing doses in people.

Written by D2C Peptides Editorial Team.

Pending qualified review.

Updated .

Sources

  1. FDA Fast Facts: FDA Warns Melanotan II Maker (US Pharm. 2007;32(10):72), warning letter excerpt. U.S. Pharmacist, 2007.
  2. Dangers of Injectable Peptides and Other Unregulated "Biohacking" Drugs (Moiz et al., PMID 42757290). Missouri Medicine, 2026.
  3. Evaluation of melanotan-II, a superpotent cyclic melanotropic peptide in a pilot phase-I clinical study (Dorr et al., PMID 8637402), design excerpt. Life Sciences, 1996.
  4. Same source as 3: dose escalation excerpt.
  5. Effect of an alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone analog on penile erection and sexual desire in men with organic erectile dysfunction (Wessells et al., PMID 11018622), methods excerpt. Urology, 2000.
  6. Melanocortin receptor agonists, penile erection, and sexual motivation: human studies with Melanotan II (Wessells et al., PMID 11035391), design excerpt. International Journal of Impotence Research, 2000.
  7. Same source as 6: nausea excerpt.
  8. Same source as 3: pigmentation excerpt.
  9. Same source as 1: FDA statement excerpt.
  10. Peptides in urology and sexual medicine: clinical effectiveness, dosing, indications, and safety: a narrative review (Vasylieva et al., PMID 42862021). Sexual Medicine Reviews, 2026.
  11. Exploring the site of anorectic action of peripherally administered synthetic melanocortin peptide MT-II in rats (Trivedi et al., PMID 12834882), conclusion excerpt. Brain Research, 2003.
  12. Melanocortin Receptor Agonists Facilitate Oxytocin-Dependent Partner Preference Formation in the Prairie Vole (Modi et al., PMID 25652247), partner preference excerpt. Neuropsychopharmacology, 2015.
  13. Same source as 3: side effects excerpt.
  14. Synthetic melanotropic peptide initiates erections in men with psychogenic erectile dysfunction: double-blind, placebo controlled crossover study (Wessells et al., PMID 9679884), results excerpt. The Journal of Urology, 1998.
  15. Same source as 5: erection results excerpt.
  16. Same source as 5: desire and nausea excerpt.
  17. Same source as 3: conclusion excerpt.
  18. Melanotan II injection resulting in systemic toxicity and rhabdomyolysis (Nelson et al., PMID 23121206), case excerpt. Clinical Toxicology, 2012.
  19. Same source as 18: vital signs excerpt.
  20. Same source as 18: conclusion excerpt.
  21. Certain Bulk Drug Substances for Use in Compounding that May Present Significant Safety Risks (content current as of 04/22/2026), Melanotan II case reports entry. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2026.
  22. Systemic but not central nervous system nitric oxide synthase inhibition exacerbates the hypertensive effects of chronic melanocortin-3/4 receptor activation (do Carmo et al., PMID 21263126), dose excerpt. Hypertension, 2011.
  23. Same source as 22: results excerpt.
  24. Role of melanocortinergic neurons in feeding and the agouti obesity syndrome (Fan et al., PMID 8990120). Nature, 1997.
  25. Hemodynamic actions and mechanisms of systemically administered alpha-MSH analogs in mice (Rinne et al., PMID 22982611). Peptides, 2012.
  26. Effect of Melanotan-II on Brain Fos Immunoreactivity and Oxytocin Neuronal Activity and Secretion in Rats (Paiva et al., PMID 28009464), route excerpt. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 2017.
  27. Identification and characterization by LC-UV-MS/MS of melanotan II skin-tanning products sold illegally on the Internet (Breindahl et al., PMID 24771717), content excerpt. Drug Testing and Analysis, 2015.
  28. Same source as 27: impurities excerpt.
  29. Barbie drug identification: Not a child's play (Deville and Charlier, PMID 39302005). Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2024.
  30. Care and Handling of Peptides. Bachem, 2021.