Melanotan 1 (MT1)

Key points

• Melanotan 1 is a melanocortin peptide that increases the skin pigment melanin.
• A controlled version, afamelanotide (Scenesse), is a licensed medicine for a rare condition called erythropoietic protoporphyria, given as an implant under specialist care.
• The Melanotan 1 sold online for tanning is unlicensed, and products are of unknown quality.
• Unlike Melanotan II, it acts mainly on pigment, with less effect on appetite or arousal.

Quick facts

What it is

Melanocortin peptide (afamelanotide)

Licensed form

Afamelanotide (Scenesse) for a rare light sensitivity condition

Sold online as

An unlicensed tanning product

UK status

Licensed only in its controlled medical form

How it works

Melanotan 1 activates the melanocortin receptor that controls melanin, the pigment that darkens skin. It is more selective than Melanotan II, so it has fewer of the other effects. In its licensed form it is used to protect the skin in people with a rare condition that makes sunlight painful.

What the evidence shows

The licensed medicine afamelanotide has been studied and approved for its specific condition. For the Melanotan 1 sold online as a tanning product, there is no such oversight, and the quality and safety of these products are not assured.

What it does not settle

• Tanning products sold online are not quality assessed.
• Long term safety of using it for tanning is not established.
• Its effect on moles and skin cancer risk, as with other tanning peptides, is not well studied.

Side effects

Common

• Nausea and flushing can occur, and the skin darkens generally rather than as an even tan.
• Freckles and moles may darken.

Less common but serious

• Any change in a mole should be checked promptly, since the effect on skin cancer risk is not established.
• Because the online product is unregulated, its dose and contents cannot be verified.

Report any suspected side effect through the MHRA Yellow Card scheme.

UK legal status and access

The licensed medicine afamelanotide is given only under specialist care for its approved condition. Melanotan 1 sold online for tanning has no UK marketing authorisation and is unregulated.

Common questions