NMN is a bioavailable precursor to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), a key coenzyme required for over 500 enzymatic reactions. Because many of these enzymatic reactions are linked to cellular metabolism, aging, inflammation, circadian rhythm, mitochondrial respiration, glycolysis, and DNA repair, NAD+ is considered essential for human health and longevity. NAD+ is also required for the expression of sirtuins, enzymes with numerous cellular regulatory effects that are particularly important for inflammation, DNA repair, and energy metabolism. A large body of research shows that aging results in decreased NAD+ and sirtuin expression, leading to impaired mitochondrial function and biogenesis and increased oxidative damage, which are drivers of the aging process itself as well as many diseases associated with aging, including cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
Controlled clinical trials have demonstrated multiple benefits of NMN supplementation, including improved insulin sensitivity and signaling in women with impaired glucose metabolism, improved aerobic fitness in healthy runners, and reduced sleepiness and improved sitting posture in older adults.6-8 To illustrate its potential to act on aging pathways by restoring NAD+ levels, NMN supplementation for 12 weeks demonstrated a trend toward reduced arterial stiffness, an independent aging-related risk factor for cardiovascular and metabolic disease.