Melanotan I

Does Melanotan I work?

Partly: some human trials, with gaps: a 65-person trial for tanning; the rare disease use has two trials in 168 patients.

For the tanning use it is sold for, the evidence is one placebo-controlled trial in 65 fair-skinned volunteers that measured melanin density and UV damage markers, a surrogate for sunburn protection. The approved use in erythropoietic protoporphyria rests on two randomized placebo-controlled trials totaling 168 patients. The tanning use has one trial with surrogate endpoints, which is B; no trial has tested cosmetic tanning in the general population or compared it with sunscreen. ¹²

A 2006 trial gave 65 fair-skinned volunteers Melanotan I or placebo by injection over three months. Melanin density rose in every treated subject. It rose most in people with the least baseline pigment: 41 percent in burn-prone (low minimal erythema dose) skin versus 12 percent in less sensitive skin. Researchers then gave a standard dose of UV. Sunburn cells in the epidermis fell by more than half. Thymine dimers, a direct marker of DNA damage, fell by 59 percent in the low-MED group. ¹

Two randomized, placebo-controlled trials tested the afamelanotide implant in EPP. One had 94 patients in the US and one had 74 in Europe. They found more hours of pain-free direct sunlight (median 69.4 versus 40.8 hours over six months in the US trial). They also found fewer light-caused skin reactions and better quality of life. Side effects were mostly mild. These trials used the implant, not the injectable powder. ²

Read the full Melanotan I page

Reference information only, not medical advice. Drawn from the Melanotan I article, fact-checked against the cited sources. No dosing anywhere on this site.