Hormonal & Sexual Health

Melanotan I

A more MC1R-selective melanocortin signal for photoprotection research.

Last updated 12 August 2026

Studied forUV-independent tanning research · Photoprotection · DNA-repair support

Evidence on fileFDA-approved · 1 animal study · 6 citations not yet graded

Strongest sourceEffects of the central melanocortin system on feed intake, metabolic hormones and insulin action in the sheep. (animal study)

Mechanism

Selective MC1R agonist affecting eumelanin synthesis and DNA-repair signaling.

Regulatory status

Approved by the FDA. Marketed as SCENESSE. Earliest approval 2019-10-08. Application NDA210797.

An approval grades as rung 1 on this site, because 21 CFR 314.126 requires adequate and well-controlled human investigations and one cannot be granted without them. It covers specific indications and doses, though, and does not transfer to other uses of the same molecule.

Reported effects

What sources associate with this compound. Reported categories, not outcomes we have graded — each would need its own citation and rung.

UV-independent tanning research
Photoprotection
DNA-repair support

Dosing on file unverified

500-1000 mcg 2x/week, cycled 2–8 weeks

Reported dose	Volume	Draw
Low — 500 mcg	0.2 mL	20 units
High — 1000 mcg	0.4 mL	40 units

What that assumes. Assumes 5 mg in 2 mL (2500 mcg/mL) drawn on a U-100 barrel — the preset on this record, not a recommendation and not the only way to mix it. Change the vial mass, the diluent or the barrel and every number in this table changes. Run your own.

Carried from a source that labels it unverified, and reproduced with that label attached. A record of what is reported, not a recommendation. No citation on this page establishes it.

Reconstitution

Vial	Diluent	Concentration	Typical dose	Draw
5 mg	2 mL	2500 mcg/mL	500 mcg	20 units

mass ÷ diluent = concentration; dose ÷ concentration = volume; volume × the syringe factor = units on the barrel (100 for U-100, 40 for U-40). Run your own numbers.

Literature on file 8

animal in vivo
Effects of the central melanocortin system on feed intake, metabolic hormones and insulin action in the sheep. graded on: an animal model — “sheep”
human RCT
FDA approval NDA210797 graded on: an FDA approval (NDA210797), which requires adequate and well-controlled human investigations — “NDA210797”

Not graded

6 citations whose study design could not be read from the title. Left ungraded rather than guessed at.

Identity

Space-filling 3D model of Melanotan I, carbon grey, nitrogen blue, oxygen red — Built from the SMILES on this record — the atoms, bonds and stereochemistry are exact. The shape is **one computed low-energy pose**, not a measured structure: a flexible peptide in solution has no single conformation. The skeletal formula below claims connectivity and nothing more, which is what we actually know.

2D chemical structure of Melanotan I — Built from the SMILES on this record — the atoms, bonds and stereochemistry are exact. The shape is **one computed low-energy pose**, not a measured structure: a flexible peptide in solution has no single conformation. The skeletal formula below claims connectivity and nothing more, which is what we actually know.

Molecular weight: 1646.8
Molecular formula: C78H111N21O19
CAS number: 75921-69-6
PubChem CID: 16197727
InChI key: UAHFGYDRQSXQEB-LEBBXHLNSA-N
Sequence: SYSXEHFRWGKPV
SMILES: CCCC[C@@H](C(=O)N[C@@H](CCC(=O)O)C(=O)N[C@@H](CC1=CN=CN1)C(=O)N[C@H](CC2=CC=CC=C2)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCCNC(=N)N)C(=O)N[C@@H](CC3=CNC4=CC=CC=C43)C(=O)NCC(=O)N[C@@H](CCCCN)C(=O)N5CCC[C@H]5C(=O)N[C@@H](C(C)C)C(=O)N)NC(=O)[C@H](CO)NC(=O)[C@H](CC6=CC=C(C=C6)O)NC(=O)[C@H](CO)NC(=O)C
InChI: InChI=1S/C78H111N21O19/c1-5-6-19-52(91-75(116)61(41-101)97-72(113)57(34-46-24-26-49(103)27-25-46)94-74(115)60(40-100)88-44(4)102)68(109)92-54(28-29-64(105)106)70(111)96-59(36-48-38-83-42-87-48)73(114)93-56(33-45-16-8-7-9-17-45)71(112)90-53(22-14-31-84-78(81)82)69(110)95-58(35-47-37-85-51-20-11-10-18-50(47)51)67(108)86-39-63(104)89-55(21-12-13-30-79)77(118)99-32-15-23-62(99)76(117)98-65(43(2)3)66(80)107/h7-11,16-18,20,24-27,37-38,42-43,52-62,65,85,100-101,103H,5-6,12-15,19,21-23,28-36,39-41,79H2,1-4H3,(H2,80,107)(H,83,87)(H,86,108)(H,88,102)(H,89,104)(H,90,112)(H,91,116)(H,92,109)(H,93,114)(H,94,115)(H,95,110)(H,96,111)(H,97,113)(H,98,117)(H,105,106)(H4,81,82,84)/t52-,53-,54-,55-,56+,57-,58-,59-,60-,61-,62-,65-/m0/s1

Classified as

Subcutaneousroute: This is the route the reconstitution arithmetic assumes. Mass divided by diluent volume gives concentration, dose divided by concentration gives volume, and volume in mL multiplied by 100 gives units on a U-100 barrel: 5 mg in 2 mL is 2.5 mg/mL, and 0.25 mg comes out at 0.1 mL, which is 10 units.

Also called

Melanotan I
Afamelanotide (Melanotan I)

Notes unverified prose

FDA-approved (Scenesse); DailyMed

Not on file 0

All 8 tracked fields hold a value on this record: molecular weight and formula, CAS number, PubChem CID, amino-acid sequence, SMILES, InChI and InChI key.

Counted from the record itself, not from what a source said it was missing. 136 of 185 records still have at least one empty.