NMN, NR, NAD+
In the search for solutions to extend the years of our life, different alternatives are gaining strength. One of them is therapy with certain supplements. Some of the most promising are those that increase the levels of substances that, over the years, reduce their level in our cells, accelerating aging.
Said therapies include very complex procedures that intervene in the most intimate part of the cells, the DNA, with the risks that this entails if the process is not 100% controlled. The real panacea would be an oral treatment capable of slowing down aging. And one of the substances that are achieving the best results is a derivative of the humble vitamin B3 or niacin.
Associated with aging is a reduction in the amount of a substance called NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) in the mitochondria. These small organelles are found in cells and are responsible for obtaining energy from the nutrients we get from food, combining them with oxygen.
Since it was observed that, associated with different diseases, NAD+ levels were reduced, researchers thought that a treatment capable of recovering its levels could delay or cushion the effects of aging. NAD+ is utilized by sirtuins, enzymes that get activated by fasting or calorie restriction; strategies that have proven effective in extending life in mice or monkeys and improving health in humans.
This led to the development of studies to verify if indeed, treatments with these substances are capable of slowing down the signs of aging. Research with mice in 2013, led by David Sinclair, kicked off numerous studies with rodents where improvements in muscle function, brain, skin, cardiovascular, liver, kidney, or even slowing the progression of liver cancer were observed.
The fast track would be to think that by consuming this NAD+, we could increase its levels in cells, but this is not the case since, when ingested, NAD+ is not able to reach cells. However, there are two substances that are capable of achieving this increase of NAD+ at the cellular level. They are nicotinamide riboside (NR) and nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), two derivatives of vitamin B3.
In human terms, NMN is used to produce nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+). This molecule can be found in all human cells and is vital. Nicotinamide riboside (NR) or niagen is an alternative form of vitamin B3 (niacin) that occurs naturally in trace amounts in milk.
The most notorious difference between NMN and NR is size. NMN is larger, so it needs to be broken down in order to fit the cell. NR is believed to be more efficient.