Okabe · Frontiers in nutrition 2022 · randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel-group trial · n=30

Oral Administration of Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Is Safe and Efficiently Increases Blood Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Levels in Healthy Subjects.

Cited 108 times in the scientific literature.

Level 2 - randomized trial

Individual randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

PubMed 35479740 · doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.868640 · record verified 2026-08-26

What was done

Thirty healthy human volunteers were enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study. Participants were allocated to receive either oral nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) at 250 mg/day (n = 15) or a placebo (n = 15) for 12 weeks. Researchers monitored safety via physiological and laboratory examinations, and quantified whole blood levels of NAD+ and related metabolites over the 12-week intervention period.

What was found

The abstract reports no exact numerical concentrations or effect sizes. Directionally, oral NMN supplementation for 12 weeks led to a statistically significant increase in whole blood NAD+ levels and nicotinic acid mononucleotide (NAMN) levels compared to controls, whereas blood NMN levels did not show a significant increase. The increase in NAD+ was strongly correlated with baseline pulse rate prior to intervention. No physiological or laboratory test abnormalities and no obvious adverse events were observed.

Why it matters

This trial confirms that oral NMN at 250 mg/day is safe and biologically active in humans, effectively raising circulating NAD+ precursor pools in healthy adults over a 12-week timeframe.

Limits

The sample size is very small (n = 30 total, 15 per arm), limiting statistical power and generalizability. The abstract provides no exact numerical values, confidence intervals, or p-values. In addition, only biochemical markers and short-term safety were assessed; no functional or clinical health outcomes were measured.

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