A Summary of a Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Clinical Study by Okabe et al. (2022)

Reviewed by Tamberlyn Blinsink, ND, MPH | Research & Development

Overview

The following summary reviews a clinical study examining oral nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) supplementation in the context of blood NAD⁺ levels and safety in healthy adult volunteers. The study was conducted to address a gap in human evidence regarding the safety and efficacy of oral NMN administration, as prior investigations into NMN’s effects on aging-related outcomes had been primarily limited to animal models. The authors sought to evaluate both the safety profile of NMN over a 12-week supplementation period and the resulting changes in whole blood NAD⁺ and related metabolite levels.

Summary

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

Published In: Frontiers in Nutrition

Study Design: Placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group trial

Participants: 30 healthy Japanese adults (ages 22–64); 15 per group (11 female, 4 male each); comparable baseline characteristics across metabolic, hepatic, and renal parameters

Dose: 250 mg NMN per day (125 mg twice daily as tablets) for 12 weeks

Outcome Measures: Physiological measurements (body weight, BMI, blood pressure, pulse rate); hematological and biochemical laboratory tests (liver enzymes, renal function, lipid panel, glucose metabolism markers, complete blood count, urinalysis); whole blood NAD metabolome (NAD⁺, NMN, NR, NAM, NA, NAMN, NAR, NAAD, MNAM) measured by LC/MS; amino acid metabolome; body composition by bioelectrical impedance analysis; adverse event monitoring via participant diary

What Was Studied: Researchers investigated the safety and tolerability of daily oral NMN supplementation over 12 weeks in healthy volunteers, as well as its ability to elevate NAD⁺ levels in whole blood. The trial also characterized the time course of NAD⁺ changes and profiled related NAD metabolites to better understand the metabolic fate of orally administered NMN in humans. Additionally, correlations between individual baseline parameters and the magnitude of NAD⁺ increase were analyzed to explore potential predictors of NMN responsiveness. Body composition and amino acid metabolome were assessed as secondary exploratory endpoints.

About the Reviewer

Name & Title: Tamberlyn Blinsink, Scientific Researcher at Solaray
Credentials: Naturopathic Doctor, Master of Public Health

Bio: Tamberlyn Blinsink, ND, MPH, a licensed naturopath who earned her Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University and her Master of Public Health from Purdue University. In addition to her experience in private practice, Dr. Blinsink, ND, MPH is a researcher in the natural products industry. She believes in giving back and has served as a lecturer at continuing education conferences and as a board member at Naturopaths Without Borders and NC Association of Naturopathic Physicians.

Reference

Okabe K, Yaku K, Uchida Y, Fukamizu Y, Sato T, Sakurai T, Tobe K, Nakagawa T. Oral Administration of Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Is Safe and Efficiently Increases Blood Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Levels in Healthy Subjects. Frontiers in Nutrition. 2022;9:868640. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35479740/

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What makes a study “double-blind”?

In double-blind studies, participants and researchers are
both unaware of which participants are in the group taking the active
investigational product and which are part of a control group.

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investigational product and the other group takes an inactive product that has
the same general appearances as the active treatment.

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Placebos are inactive treatments. Researchers include placebos that have the same general characteristics as an active treatment.

They try to make them indistinguishable from the active treatment regarding
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Why is statistical significance important?

Quality scientific studies look for more than just a numerical difference between treated groups and control groups. These studies also check mathematically for the possibility that any difference between groups might
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