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BUSINESS NEWS - Melanotan 2 is a synthetic peptide that has been investigated for its potential action in a variety of scientific fields, including sexual arousal and pigmentation of the stratum corneum of the epidermal layer (tanning) without the exposure to UV radiation typically required to exert the necessary melanin production in the skin.

Melanotan-2 Peptide: What is it?
Melanotan 2 is a synthetic analog of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH). Researchers from the University of Arizona first produced the chemical in the 1980s. Their goal was to better understand the nature and function of the melanocortin receptors in physiological processes. To be more specific, the peptide was supposed to act as a sort of "sunless tanning agent;" nonetheless, it was later suggested that it may, unintentionally, have a significant impact on sexual function and hunger signaling within the organism.

There is a potential misunderstanding between Melanotan 2 (MT-II) and Melanotan I (MT-I), a linear peptide of 13 amino acids. Melanotan II is not to be confused with Melanotan I! The only difference between MT-I and α-MSH is that the fourth position of MT-I contains norleucine rather than methionine, and the seventh position contains D-phenylalanine rather than L-phenylalanine. MT II, on the other hand, is a cyclic truncated peptide with just seven amino acids and a lactam ring.

Melanotan-2 Peptide: Mechanism of Action
Experimental studies involving MT-II have investigated its potential to reduce appetite, increase libido, and mitigate the physiological markers associated with erectile dysfunction. While most research on both Melanotan molecules have historically concentrated on their potential in skin, hair/fur pigmentation, and their potential to reduce the risk of skin cancer, MT-II has also been the subject of many studies investigating its potential to reduce appetite.

Studies suggest Melanotan II may have a potency of up to one thousand times more than natural α-MSH. It is believed to bind to the melanocortin receptors in the organism to variable degrees, producing a wide range of impacts. While MT-II is believed to predominantly bind to the MC1 and MC4 receptors, it is also thought to interact with the MC3 receptor less. The following is a list of the receptors that are operational:

• MC1: Considered to pigment skin, hair follicles through MC1's action.
• MC3: There is a considered a connection between MC3 and the control of both appetite and energy.
• MC4: Considerd to exert an effect on sexual behavior as well as the erectile behavior of male research models.

Studies have suggested MT-II may potentially increase pigmentation at a lower cumulative concentration than MT-I. Bremelanotide (PT-141), a variant of MT-II that Palatin Technologies has created, suggests the unique potential action that MT-II may have on the MC4 receptor and in sexual behavior.

Melanotan-2 Peptide Potential
Both the properties of Melanotan II and its studies have been well documented:

Melanotan II is hypothesized to accelerate the formation of melanin, the material in the skin barrier that governs the pace of epidermal darkening and may act to mitigate sunburn. According to a 2015 review of Melanotan potential through related experimental outcomes, eighteen studies and twenty-one case presentations implied the impact of Melanotan II as a synthetic tanning agent.

One example is the pilot phase-I experimental research conducted by Dorr et al., where three research models were given MT-II. This was followed by routine exposure to either MT-II or a placebo for two weeks. One of the outcomes was speculated to be an increase in skin pigmentation, which lent credence to the hypothesis of MT-II to act as a sunless tanning agent when it is provided to mouse models in modest concentrations every other day.

Melanotan-2 Peptide and ED
In a landmark investigation on the potential of MT-II on sexual function, the peptide exposed to research models of erectile dysfunction. The study was conducted by Wessells H et al., the researchers. The authors reported that 85% of the research models appeared able to achieve penile erection following peptide exposure.

Giuliano et al. conducted research in 2006 that suggested that presentations of Melanotan 2 may have caused erectile events in rats that had been given anesthesia. In addition, researchers theorized that MT-2 may have reduced the amount of time that passed before the first erectile event took place. They speculated that the peptide may have attracted the central and peripheral melanocortin pathways to accomplish this function.

However, as Mahiques-Santos points out, even though Melanotan II has been examined in the course of erectile dysfunction (ED), it has been mainly supplanted by a molecule that is an active metabolite generated by the molecule. Despite this, a significant amount of scientific interest is associated with MT-2 as a possible approach for ED.

According to research conducted in 2019 by Minakova and colleagues, Melanotan II seemed to have restored autistic characteristics in a mouse model of autism derived from a maternal immune activation (MIA) mouse. Melanotan II was given to male mice with MIA continuously for seven days. The researchers noticed a "rescue of social, behavioral metrics." The scientists postulated that MT-II appeared to be an effective compound for correcting autistic-like behavioral impairments in the MIA mouse model of autism, which suggests that more study in this area is necessary. 

 Research peptides for sale can be found online for interested scientists

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