NMN
Nicotinamide Mononucleotide · NAD+ precursor
NAD⁺ precursor: more cellular energy and a possible anti-aging effect.
Grade
B
Moderate
- Class
- Cellular metabolism
- Primary use
- NAD⁺ and metabolic support
- Evidence strength
- medium
- Last reviewed
- 2024-11-15
The claim
NAD⁺ precursor: more cellular energy and a possible anti-aging effect.
What the evidence says
Phase I/II human trials consistently raise blood NAD⁺ (+40–80%), but with small samples, short follow-up and surrogate outcomes. Hard clinical endpoints are not yet demonstrated.
Key studies
- [1]
Effect of 12-week NMN supplementation in older adults · RCT
Blood NAD⁺ raised; gait speed improved in a subset. n=25.
PMID 35995051 ↗ - [2]
NMN supplementation and metabolic parameters · RCT
Positive metabolic signals, limited sample.
PMID 34930279 ↗ - [3]
Tissue NAD⁺ decline with age · preclinical
Rationale: tissue NAD⁺ falls 40–60% with age.
PMID 33394883 ↗
Mechanism
Direct precursor of NAD⁺ in the salvage pathway; NAD⁺ is a cofactor of sirtuins and PARPs, involved in DNA repair and metabolic regulation.
Safety
Good short-term tolerability in available RCTs: no severe adverse events reported. Long-term safety data are lacking.
Dosage context
In studies: 250–900 mg/day for 8–24 weeks. Higher doses did not show proportionally greater benefit.
From the field
We follow NMN trial by trial and we know how it's sold: the NAD⁺ numbers are real, but the leap 'more NAD⁺ = live better' is not yet proven in humans. Hence grade B.