Melanotan II is an analog of the peptide hormone alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (?-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 (?-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. Melanocortins (MCs) are multi-functional 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 (?-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 ?-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
While testing the new peptide Melanotan II scientists found that it had an unexpected side effect]
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 Vitiligo
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 read-heads or people prone to freckles? It may be quite a few years before these peptides are 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.
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