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Research vial labelled Melanotan I, a Melanocortin and sexual peptide studied in preclinical and clinical literature

Melanotan I

Afamelanotide

The file here is mostly preclinical work plus clinic and community practice, not registrational trials.

More receptor-selective than Melanotan II, which is why the nausea and libido effects are far less reported. An implant form is approved for erythropoietic protoporphyria.

General profile

Class
Melanocortin and sexual
Evidence
Mixed or moderate evidence
Studied dose range
0.5–1 mg
Frequency in protocols
Daily during a loading phase
Route
Subcutaneous
Half life
~1 hour
Reconstitution
2 mL bacteriostatic water per 10 mg vial
Storage
Refrigerated, ~30 days

Timing and cycling in the literature

Usually dosed in the evening window

Daily during loading, then two to three times weekly

Flushing and nausea peak in the first hours, so evening dosing lets it pass during sleep.

Reported cycle: 4 weeks on, 8 weeks off

Loading runs a few weeks, then pigmentation is maintained rather than pushed further.

Watch for: New or changing moles. Anyone with a melanoma history or heavy mole load should not run this at all.

What it conflicts with

Three separate questions, kept separate. A hard stop means the mechanisms must not run together at all and timing does not fix it. A syringe rule means the same day is fine but one barrel is not. Redundancy is not dangerous, it is paying twice to hit one target.

  • Hard stopTiming

    Melanotan I + Melanotan II

    Never run both melanocortin agonists

    Same receptor family with overlapping pigmentation and cardiovascular effects. Melanotan II is the less selective of the two, so combining them adds side effects rather than pigment.

Most syringe compatibility claims here are practice and expert consensus, not peer reviewed mixing studies. A clear liquid after mixing does not prove the compounds are still active, and cloudiness, particles or gelling means discard. Active cancer, pregnancy, major cardiac care and heavy immunosuppression override every stack preference on this page.

See how Melanotan I fits your week

The injection scheduler spaces doses using the clinical timing data, flags the pairs above before you draw them, and tells you why.

Model this in the injection scheduler

The studies

Human trials: No completed human efficacy trial that establishes a dose for the use people are chasing.

Open questions: Treat published dosing as observed practice, not a validated protocol.

Published papers

Indexed from Europe PMC and refreshed weekly. Each link opens the paper itself.

Search the full literature