Een andere versie van alfa MSH. Doet niet alleen iets met de 
huidcellen maar verhoogt ook de aanmaak van NO in de zwellichamen van de
 penis. Heeft een afslankeffect doordat het de aanmaak van UCP3 in bruin vetweefsel en spieren verhoogt (bron). Daardoor verhoging van de stofwisseling.
Melanotan 2: bijwerkingen
Milde misselijkheid, gapen, bruinverkleuring op billen, bovenlichaam en gezicht. Verlies van eetlust. Erecties bij mannen.
Melanotan 2: gebruik en werking
Onderhuidse injecties van 0,01 tot 0,005 milligram per kilo 
lichaamsgewicht. Erecties komen 1 tot 5 uur na injecties, afhankelijk 
van dosis. Dosis van 0,025 milligram effectief om erecties te 
veroorzaken bij door psychische oorzaken impotente mannen. Ook toename 
van de zin in seks.
Melanotan 2: de maker
Het Amerikaanse Palatin doet klinisch onderzoek.
Sunless Tanning
Melanotan II – Sunless Tanning Peptide
Melanotan II is an analog of the peptide hormone alpha-melanocyte 
stimulating hormone (α-MSH) that induces skin tanning. In addition, 
Melanotan II has the additional effect of increasing female and male 
libido. It is currently being used around the world mainly as an 
effective sunless tanning solution. Melanotan II provides the protective
 benefit of a tan without the harm of sun exposure. In essence, it could
 protect people by providing them with a slight sunless tan that would 
make them less prone to burn with their day-to-day exposure to the sun.
Melanotan II History and Development
Melanotan II was developed by researchers at the University of 
Arizona College of Medicine. Melanotan II is an analog of the peptide 
hormone alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH), this hormone 
provides a therapeutic tan with the ability to lower the risk of skin 
cancer, (MSH) also plays an important role in regulating sexual arousal 
in men and women. Melanotan II has the additional effect of decreasing 
body fat mass and is known to suppress the appetite. Melanotan II is a 
cyclic lactyam analog of alpha-MSH with the amino acid sequence 
Ac-Nle-cyclo[Asp-His-D-Phe-Arg-Trp-Lys]-NH2.
Melanotan II is in a class of peptide hormones known as Melanocortins
 (MCs). Melanocortins (MCs) are multifunctional peptide hormones that 
regulate a diversity of physiological functions. MCs have been 
implicated in sexual function in animals.
In 1998 the University of Arizona improved the peptide even further 
and developed Melanotan II which was an even more effective sunless 
tanning agent. Both Melanotan I and II are synthetic hormones of 
melanocyte stimulating hormone that is responsible for darkening the 
pigment of your skin when exposed to sunlight. Melanotan I is a linear, 
full length peptide [containing all 13 amino acids]. Melanotan II is a 
shortened, circular version of the same peptide.
Melanotan Skin Tanning Process
Melanotan is a synthetic hormone that mimics the action of MSH, or 
melanocyte-stimulating hormone which is responsible for darkening the 
pigments of the skin. Typically when your skin is exposed to UltaViolet 
radiation (the sun or tanning beds) your skin will release melanocytes 
as a natural defense to protect your skin from absorbing an excess 
amount of solar radiation. This natural defense to UV light is what 
leads to tanning or a darkening of your skin. Melanotan is a peptide 
which similuates this melanocyte response chemically in the absense of 
the sun. Therefore it is theoretically safer, because your skin pigment 
is responding to the simulated hormone rather than from actual UV damage
 to the skin.
They knew the body’s naturally occurring hormone alpha-melanocyte 
stimulating hormone (α-MSH) caused melanogenesis, a process by which the
 skin’s tanning cells (melanocytes) produce the skin’s tanning pigment 
(melanin). With that knowledge they tested to see if administering this 
hormone to the body directly could be an effective method to cause 
sunless tanning. What they found was that while it appeared to work, 
natural alpha-MSH had too short a half life in the body to be practical 
as a therapeutic drug. So they decided to try and find a more potent and
 stable alternative, one that would be more practical.
After synthesizing and screening hundreds of molecules, the 
researchers headed by Dr. Victor Hruby, found a peptide that after 
trials and testing seemed to not only be safe but also approximately 
1,000 times more potent than natural α-MSH. They dubbed this new peptide
 Melanotan.
Since their discovery, numerous studies dating back to the mid-1980s 
have shown no obvious toxic effects of Melanotan. Because skin cancer 
(melanoma) today is a major health concern, Melanotan is expected to be 
used as a drug to combat it. Melanotan will do this by stimulating the 
body’s natural tanning mechanism to create a tan without first needing 
exposure to harmful levels of UV radiation. This in turn may reduce the 
potential for skin damage that can eventually lead to skin cancer.
The Arizona Cancer Center is working with Melanotan not only as a 
drug with cosmetic applications but in order to reduce the risk of skin 
cancer. They feel that if fair skinned people take Melanotan it will 
offer them the protective benefit of a tan without the harm of sun 
exposure. In essence, it could protect people by providing them with a 
slight sunless tan that would make them less prone to burn with their 
day-to-day exposure to the sun.
Melanotan II Side Effects – Libido Increase
While testing the new peptide Melanotan II scientists found that it 
had an unexpected side effect: it caused spontaneous erections in men. 
The American Association of Urologists tested this peptide extensive and
 found that it did not change the bloodflow or selectively expand or 
restrict capilaries in the same manner that Viagra or Cialis treats 
erectile dysfunction. It works by sending a signal to the brain which 
causes the body to naturally secrete the hormone which causes an 
enhanced erection. They did further testing and found that this same 
responside with women it increased sexual desire and genital arousal. 
Evaluation is currently being done with this peptide in hopes of 
developing a new type of erectile dysfunction drug, however the Arizona 
Cancer Center suspended all development of Melanotan II as a tanning 
agent.
Melanotan II , can enhance sexual function in human males (erectile 
activity) and females (increased levels of sexual desire and genital 
arousal). Unlike other sexual-enhancement drugs, Melanotan works at the 
level of the brain, thus eliciting a rather natural sexual response with
 minimal or no undesirable side effects. The actions of the peptide were
 discovered accidentally while studying the effects of the peptide and 
related analogs on humanskin pigmentation (tanning).
The Arizona Cancer Center’s research has found Melanotan I to be 
effective in promoting skin pigmentation with little or no risk, however
 it’s role in actually preventing skin cancer has not yet been 
determined.
Melanotan II for Redheads, Albinos or Vitiligos
Even with all this development on the Melanotan I and II peptides, 
there still remains many unanswered questions. For example, how 
effective are these peptides for readheads or people prone to freckles? 
It may be quite a few years before these peptides are FDA approved and 
once they are approved you will need to go to a cosmetic surgeon’s 
office to get them administered. However, you don’t have to wait. They 
currently have research grade Melanotan I and II available for all those
 research chemists out there (anyone) to test out on their lab-rats 
(themselves). They also found that Melanotan will not do anything for 
people with albinism or vitiligo because these patients do not have skin
 cells with receptors for melanin. For this reason, the synthetic 
hormone has no mechanism for action and therefore cannot cause change in
 pigment.
Future of Melanotan II
A private U.S. company, Competitive Technologies, announced in March 
of last year that they would be developing Melanotan I and II for 
commercial use.
A company in Australia, EpiTan, is raising funds to start production 
and trials for Melanotan I as a tanning agent to prevent skin cancer. 
Unfortunately, rumor has it that the Australian equivalent of the FDA 
will not be accepting the research already done in the U.S., which will 
greatly delay approval in Australia, as all the tests will have to be 
repeated.
Recently, EpiTan announced it is working on a time release injection 
version of Melanotan, moving away from an oral formula. These injections
 would need to be administered every 30 days, instead of daily. They are
 using the same time release injection hormone technology developed for 
the birth control drug, Depo Provera.
This peptide has been going through extensive testing and research 
over the past ten years, however it is still not yet approved for use by
 the FDA. So far, it is effective only when administered by subcutaneous
 injection, not orally. Since Melanotan must be administered with 
insulin needles, it will never be FDA approved for over-the-counter use 
until an effective oral form is developed.
Researchers at the University of Arizona are no longer conducting 
research with Melanotan I, although research continues for 
Melanotan II.