Published: 3:00 p.m. PST May 23, 2022 | Updated: 2:30 p.m. PST Jun 28, 2022
Highlights
- Middle-aged and older adults treated with NMN did not show an increase in blood NAD+ levels.
- Participants included in the study exhibited no significant improvements in physical performance.
- No significant differences in blood pressure were found after taking NMN.
Recent clinical trials suggest that taking nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) can improve health parameters like insulin sensitivity, at least in older women with prediabetes. However, a few questions have emerged concerning the most effective NMN dose, along with how long it takes for health benefits to manifest. Because NAD+ plays a key role in thousands of cell reactions that result in energy production and cell rejuvenation, researchers have pondered whether taking the NAD+ precursor NMN may provide almost immediate health-promoting effects.
In a report from Frontiers of Aging authored by Dr. Hoa Huang, the director of Effepharm, a company based in Shanghai, it was shown that NMN does not significantly increase blood NAD+ or improve walking distance for a six-minute time course. However, the Shanghai-based researcher found no adverse changes to blood pressure. These findings provide no meaningful way of knowing whether Uthever NMN provides beneficial health-related effects in older adults, which could stem from the short treatment duration (60 days).
NMN Does Not Significantly Raise Blood NAD+
To find whether NMN has an effect on blood NAD+ levels, Dr. Huang measured NAD+ from the blood of older adults (40-65 years) at 0, 30, and 60 days after administering 300 mg (two 150 mg tablets) of NMN. He found that, although NMN increased NAD+ blood levels by about 11% after 30 days and 38% after 60 days, the results were not statistically significant. This was because NAD+ blood levels also increased in the placebo group. Hence, although there was a trend indicating that taking NMN increases blood NAD+ levels, NAD+ levels also increased in participants not treated with NMN, requiring further investigation.
(Huang, 2022 | Frontiers in Aging) Taking 300 mg/day of NMN does not significantly increase blood NAD+ levels. Compared to the placebo group, NMN does not significantly increase blood NAD+ levels.
NMN Does Not Significantly Enhance Exercise Endurance
Because NMN increases cell energy production to enhance energy levels, Dr. Huang sought to find whether NMN improves exercise endurance. The Shanghai-based researcher measured the distance walked by the participants over six minutes. Although the NMN-treated group displayed a 6.5% increase in walking distance, there was also a slight increase in the placebo group and the results were not statistically significant. These findings indicate that NMN does not increase walking distance in older adults. However, the possibility remains that a longer study duration, more participants, or higher NMN dose could lead to significant results.
(Huang | Frontiers in Aging) NMN does not significantly improve endurance. The average distance of NMN-taking individuals increased about 6% to almost a half-kilometer. Although this represents a statistical trend toward improved physical endurance over 60 days of administering NMN, these results were non-statistically significant.
NMN Does Not Alter Blood Pressure
One of the putative anti-aging benefits of NMN is to improve cardiovascular function, so Dr. Huang measured blood pressure from participants to find whether NMN alters heart function. He found that there were no significant changes in blood pressure in response to NMN treatment. While these findings do not provide evidence that NMN enhances heart function, they do confirm that no adverse blood pressure increases occur while taking NMN.
Does NMN Work?
With accumulating data showing NMN’s efficacy in clinical trials, the lack of significant findings from this study can be due to two main variables. The first variable is the dosage; it could be that the dosages of NMN administered were too low (300 mg/day) as most studies use doses from 250 mg to 500 mg/day. Since 250 mg/day nearly doubled blood NAD+ levels over a 12-week time course in one study, the possibility remains that NMN formulations differ and that Uthever’s formulation is not as effective at lower doses. Another variable is the duration of treatment; it’s possible that the duration of the study was too short (60 days) to see substantial health benefits from NMN, since the previous study showed NMN almost doubled blood NAD+ after 12 weeks of administration. It could also be that Uthever NMN is not as effective as other brands of NMN at boosting NAD+ levels even after increasing the dosage and duration of treatment. Additionally, the subjects chosen for this study were already healthy, which may be why they did not see improvements in walking endurance. More studies are needed to determine the effect of NMN on physical performance in healthy individuals. Furthemore, NMN could improve age-related conditions like diabetes or obesity, which will require studies of individuals with these conditions.
The non-significant statistical trends showing that NMN boosts blood NAD+ levels and enhances walking endurance give hope for those who take NMN. Aged adults currently taking NMN may take NMN for durations beyond 60 days, higher doses, or use other NMN brands that may be more effective in enhancing physical function. As such, many other NMN brands exist, such as GeneXFormulas, GridIron Nutrition, ProHealth Longevity, and Herbalmax.
Future clinical trials should compare NMN brands to find out what manufacturers provide the most effective supplement. Along those lines, dose comparison analyses could be conducted between different brands to show which doses are most effective from each NMN-producing company. This endeavor would help consumers better understand which brand of NMN is best.
Story Source
Huang H (2022) A Multicentre, Randomised, Double Blind, Parallel Design, Placebo Controlled Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Uthever (NMN Supplement), an Orally Administered Supplementation in Middle Aged and Older Adults. Front. Aging 3:851698. doi: 10.3389/fragi.2022.851698
Article Source
https://www.nmn.com/news/uthever-nmn-nad-endurance