Melanotan II

Identity

Class

Hormonal

Molecular weight

1024 Da

Residues

7

Heavy atoms

145

Reference slug

melanotan-ii

These are published properties of the molecule, given for identification. Values we cannot confirm are omitted rather than estimated. What these terms mean.

What this compound is

Seven residues closed into a ring by a side-chain lactam: the aspartate at two and the lysine at seven are joined directly, so the ring hangs off the middle of the chain rather than closing it end to end. The N-terminus is acetylated and position one is norleucine.

Sequence

UDHfRWK

This sequence uses notation outside the standard twenty one-letter codes — a lowercase letter marks a D-amino acid, and other symbols mark modified or non-standard residues. It is reproduced exactly as published rather than normalised, and no residue composition is derived from it.

Primary literature

5 peer-reviewed papers indexed in PubMed that name this compound in the title. Each record was checked against the database for title, journal and year rather than written from memory.

1. Melanotan-induced priapism: a hard-earned tan

   BMJ Case Rep·2019·PMID 30796078

2. CLIPSing Melanotan-II to Discover Multiple Functionally Selective hMCR Agonists

   J Med Chem·2022·PMID 35188390

3. Melanocortin receptor agonist melanotan-II microinjected in the nucleus accumbens decreases appetitive and consumptive responding for food

   Neuropeptides·2022·PMID 36155088

4. Melanotan II: a possible cause of renal infarction: review of the literature and case report

   CEN Case Rep·2020·PMID 31953620

5. Melanotan-II reverses autistic features in a maternal immune activation mouse model of autism

   PLoS One·2019·PMID 30629642

Citations are listed so the underlying research can be read directly. They describe laboratory and preclinical work on the molecule. They are not evidence of a benefit, and nothing here is an application, dose, route or outcome.

Reference databases

Links resolved against the live databases on 2026-08-29.