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Concentrations of -melanotrophin in the plasma of anaesthetized rats were measured by radioimmunoassay at intervals of 2–10 min. Although significant increases of three to ten times in the concentration of -melanotrophin occurred over periods of 15–35 min, levels of hormone could also be stable for periods of greater than 1 h. The data did not indicate separate secretory episodes but rather a continuous release of -melanotrophin by the pituitary gland. A very rapid pulsatile secretion operating over periods of less than 5 min cannot be excluded.

Intravenous injection of synthetic -melanotrophin was followed by a biexponential decline in levels of hormone in plasma indicating a rapid distribution to the extracellular fluid and a slower elimination by metabolism. The apparent volume of distribution of -melanotrophin was 210 ml/kg, the half-life for elimination 7·1 min and the estimated clearance 1·55 nmol/day per kg.