Nicotinamide Riboside Augments the Aged Human Skeletal Muscle NAD + Metabolome and Induces Transcriptomic and Anti-inflammatory Signatures.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled crossover trial in humans
PubMed 31412242 · doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2019.07.043
What was done
In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial, 12 aged men received oral nicotinamide riboside (NR) at 1 g per day or placebo for 21 days. The investigators evaluated skeletal muscle targeted metabolomics, muscle transcriptomics via RNA sequencing, muscle mitochondrial bioenergetics, and circulating inflammatory cytokines.
What was found
The abstract reports directional findings without numerical values or effect sizes. Oral NR supplementation elevated the skeletal muscle NAD+ metabolome, evidenced by increases in nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide and nicotinamide clearance products. Muscle RNA sequencing showed downregulation of energy metabolism and mitochondrial pathways without altering mitochondrial bioenergetics. NR supplementation also depressed circulating inflammatory cytokine levels.
Why it matters
This trial demonstrates that oral NR is bioavailable to human aged skeletal muscle and induces systemic anti-inflammatory signatures. However, short-term NAD+ augmentation did not enhance muscle mitochondrial bioenergetics.
Limits
The sample size is very small (n = 12) and exclusively enrolled older men, limiting generalizability to women and broader populations. The intervention was brief (21 days), and the abstract lacks quantitative values, statistical confidence intervals, and clinical or functional muscle performance outcomes.
Cited by
- supports In a randomized controlled crossover trial of older men, nicotinamide riboside significantly reduced inflammatory markers including IL-6 and IL-10 despite failing to improve grip strength.
- supports In a crossover trial evaluating nicotinamide riboside in older men, the anti-inflammatory effect exhibited a carryover that persisted for three weeks into the subsequent placebo period.
- supports Eight randomized clinical trials have shown beneficial effects of NR in lowering inflammation.
- supports The 2019 clinical trial by Elhassan et al. showed that NR supplementation significantly lowered inflammation.