Source comparison
Melanotan-2 for Libido Enhancement Research: Study Design Comparison
Rodent copulatory behavior (male rats) 0.25–1.5mg/kg SC Mount latency reduction 60–75% reduction vs saline control at 0.5mg/kg MC4R in PVN hypothalamus Gold standard preclinical model. Replicates mechanical erectile components but can't measure subjective libi
This comparison does not assign a generated winner or score.
- Rodent copulatory behavior (male rats)
- 0.25–1.5mg/kg SC
- Mount latency reduction
- 60–75% reduction vs saline control at 0.5mg/kg
- MC4R in PVN hypothalamus
- Gold standard preclinical model. Replicates mechanical erectile components but can't measure subjective libido or psychological arousal
- Human psychogenic ED pilot (intranasal)
- 7–20mg intranasal
- Spontaneous erection frequency
- 80% response rate at 20mg dose within 6 hours
- MC4R systemic (CNS + peripheral)
- Proof-of-concept only. Dose-limiting nausea and flushing prevented continuation; intranasal bioavailability 3–5× lower than SC route
- Primate sexual motivation (rhesus macaque)
- 0.1–0.5mg/kg SC
- Visual attention to sexual stimuli
- 2.3× increase in gaze duration toward female conspecific images at 0.3mg/kg
- MC4R PVN + amygdala projections
- Closest analog to human desire/motivation constructs. Suggests central arousal effects beyond peripheral erectile mechanisms
- In vitro MC4R binding affinity
- 0.1–10 µM peptide concentration
- IC50 determination (receptor occupancy)
- IC50 = 2.9 nM (high affinity)
- Cloned human MC4R expressed in CHO cells
- Confirms MT-2 selectivity is broad-spectrum melanocortin, not MC4R-exclusive. Off-target MC3R/MC5R binding explains nausea and flushing side effects