Nicotinamide Mononucleotide
other · also known as NMN, beta-nicotinamide mononucleotide
This is general information, not medical advice. Supplements can interact with medicines and health conditions. Always check with your doctor or pharmacist before starting or changing supplements.
What it is
Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) is a small molecule the body uses to make nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), a coenzyme required for hundreds of metabolic reactions, DNA repair, and the activity of sirtuin proteins linked to cellular ageing. NAD+ levels naturally decline with age, which has driven substantial interest in NMN as an anti-ageing supplement. Animal studies, mainly in mice, have found that long-term NMN treatment can extend lifespan and improve markers of healthy ageing. Human research, however, is still at an early stage: small trials lasting weeks to a few months confirm that oral NMN reliably raises blood NAD+ levels and appears to be well tolerated in the short term, but they have not established the longevity benefits seen in animals, and human evidence for metabolic or physical performance benefits is inconsistent. People take NMN hoping to slow ageing or improve energy and metabolic health, but the direct evidence for these effects in humans remains preliminary, and no human trial has run long enough to test effects on lifespan itself.
Evidence-based benefits
Oral NMN supplementation reliably raises blood NAD+ levels in humans within weeks, an effect confirmed across several small randomised trials at doses from 250 mg to 900 mg/day.
A 2022 randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 30 healthy adults found that 250 mg/day of NMN for 12 weeks significantly increased whole-blood NAD+ levels compared with placebo, with no abnormal physiological or laboratory findings. A separate 2023 dose-ranging trial in 80 middle-aged adults found blood NAD concentrations rose significantly at 300, 600, and 900 mg/day versus placebo, with the largest increases at 600-900 mg/day.
A single small trial found NMN improved markers of aerobic exercise capacity in runners, but a broader systematic review of NMN trials found only non-significant improvements in physical performance measures overall, so this benefit is not well established in humans.
A 2021 six-week randomised trial in 48 amateur runners found NMN (600-1200 mg/day) increased oxygen uptake and ventilatory threshold power versus placebo during submaximal exercise testing, though VO2max itself did not differ significantly from baseline in any group. A 2024 systematic review of 10 randomised controlled trials (437 patients, NMN 150-1200 mg/day) found only non-significant improvements in grip strength and skeletal mass index, concluding that NMN's effect on physical performance remains unproven despite being well tolerated.
Evidence that NMN improves glucose or lipid metabolism in humans is inconsistent: an early, small trial found improved muscle insulin signalling in prediabetic women, but a larger meta-analysis of randomised trials found no overall benefit for fasting glucose, insulin, HbA1c, or lipid markers.
A 2024 meta-analysis of 8 randomised controlled trials (342 middle-aged/older adults, NMN 250-2000 mg/day for 14 days to 12 weeks) found no significant effect of NMN on fasting glucose, fasting insulin, HbA1c, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), or lipid profile. This followed an earlier, smaller 2021 randomised trial that had found NMN improved skeletal-muscle insulin signalling and insulin-stimulated glucose disposal in postmenopausal women with prediabetes; the larger meta-analysis did not replicate a metabolic benefit at the group level.
- Grade D· Traditional/anecdotal[1]
In animal studies, long-term NMN treatment increased median lifespan in female mice and reduced frailty in both sexes; this longevity effect has not been demonstrated in humans, and no long-term human lifespan or healthspan trials exist.
A 2024 study (posted as a preprint, not yet peer-reviewed in a journal) of long-term NMN administration starting at 13 months of age in mice found NMN treatment reduced frailty and maintained more youthful gene expression patterns in both sexes, improved metabolic health in males, and increased median lifespan by 8.5% in females, without increasing tumour counts or severity. The authors note this is a mouse study; NMN's effect on human lifespan remains untested.
Risks & contraindications
- Grade B· Limited evidence[1]
Short-term human trials (up to 24 weeks) have not found NMN supplementation to increase adverse events, serious adverse events, or liver enzyme abnormalities at doses of 250-2000 mg/day, but data on safety beyond several months of continuous use do not yet exist.
A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis of 15 randomised controlled trials (10 contributing safety data; NMN 250-2000 mg/day for 14 days to 24 weeks) found NMN did not increase overall, serious, withdrawal- related, or system-specific adverse events, and did not significantly elevate ALT or AST. The authors concluded short-term oral NMN was well tolerated but called for larger, longer trials to confirm long-term safety and clarify metabolic effects.
Dosage & how to take it
- Nicotinamide mononucleotide: 250–1000 mg/day, in the morning, with or without food. Human trials to date have used 150-2000 mg/day for periods of 2 weeks to 24 weeks (168 days); no human safety or efficacy data exist beyond that duration. This reflects a gap in the research, not an established safety limit. There is no evidence-based reason to cap continuous use at a specific day count, only an absence of data past ~24 weeks. Morning dosing is commonly recommended based on NAD+'s role in circadian and energy metabolism, though dedicated human timing trials have not been conducted.
Interactions
No interactions in our database yet. We check against a limited set of medications. Absence of a warning is not evidence of safety.
Our medication coverage is not exhaustive. Absence of a warning here is not evidence of safety. Always confirm with your pharmacist.
Where to buy
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