Peptide LibraryMelanotan II dosage in published studies and labels
These are the doses used for Melanotan II in FDA labelling and published clinical studies, reported as each source states them, one row per regimen. They describe what was studied or approved for a specific population. They are not a recommendation, and none of them is a dose for any individual.
Research and educational reference only. This is not medical advice, and no figure on this page is a dosing recommendation.
Last checked against primary sources:
Studied regimens and sources
Melanotan II has been dosed in humans, but only in small studies from the 1990s that investigated erectile function rather than tanning. The published dosing is weight-based: a pilot study started at 0.01 mg/kg subcutaneously and escalated in 0.005 mg/kg steps to a maximum of 0.03 mg/kg. There is no approved product and no modern trial establishing a dose for pigmentation.
| Human dosing established | Yes |
|---|---|
| Studied dose range | 0.01–0.03 mg/kg subcutaneously (weight-based) |
| Route | Subcutaneous |
| Frequency | Single doses on alternating days in the pilot study |
| Duration studied | Short pharmacology studies |
| Titration | Escalated in 0.005 mg/kg increments from a 0.01 mg/kg starting dose in the 1996 pilot study. |
| Evidence level | Limited Human Evidence |
| Last reviewed | 2026-09-05 |
Research-reported dosing
Doses as studied, one row per regimen. Different trials used different regimens; they are listed separately rather than averaged.
| Study / context | Population | Dose | Route | Frequency | Duration | Outcome studied | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot study (Dorr et al., 1996)Clinical trial · Single-blind placebo-controlled pilot study | Normal male volunteers (n=3) | 0.01 mg/kg starting dose, escalated by 0.005 mg/kg to 0.03 mg/kg in two subjects and 0.025 mg/kg in one | Subcutaneous | Alternating days, saline or MT-II | Single-blind alternating-day protocol | Safety and erectile response | Evaluation of melanotan-II, a superpotent cyclic melanotropic peptide in a pilot phase-I clinical study. Life Sci. 1996. |
| Psychogenic erectile dysfunction study (1998)Clinical trial · Clinical study | Men with psychogenic erectile dysfunction | 0.025 mg/kg | Subcutaneous | — | — | Erectile response | Wessells H et al. Synthetic melanotropic peptide initiates erections in men with psychogenic erectile dysfunction: double-blind, placebo controlled crossover study. J Urol. 1998. |
| NCT07437560 — phase 2, recruiting, no resultsClinical trial · Registered phase 2 trial, recruiting | Patients with vitiligo (planned n=60) | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | — | — | Repigmentation as an adjunct to NB-UVB phototherapy | NCT07437560 — Melanotan II (MT-II) as an Adjunct to NB-UVB Phototherapy for Repigmentation |
Where sources disagree
- Published human dosing is weight-based and small: 0.01–0.03 mg/kg, which is roughly 0.7–2.1 mg for a 70 kg adult. Fixed protocols of 0.25–1 mg daily published elsewhere are not derived from these studies and have no primary source.
- Every published human study of melanotan II examined erectile function, not tanning. The pigmentation use it is overwhelmingly sold for has no completed trial behind it; the only registered pigmentation trial is in vitiligo and is still recruiting.
- Melanotan II is unlicensed and its sale for human use is prohibited in several jurisdictions, including by the UK MHRA. This profile reports what was studied, not what is lawful or advisable.