We are a world leader in NR and NAD research
The active ingredient in ChromaDex’s flagship consumer product TRU NIAGEN® is a unique and proprietary form of nicotinamide riboside ("NR") that safely and effectively increases nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide ("NAD") to support cellular health and resilience. The depth and consistency of the science supporting NR speaks to its value for promoting intrinsic capacity – the body’s ability to cope with physiologic stress.
What is NAD?
The molecule nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is constantly being consumed and created by cells to drive energy production and assist with cell defense and repair. Its levels have been shown to decline as we age. Reduced NAD levels are also associated with overnutrition, excessive alcohol consumption, sleep deprivation, sedentary lifestyle and several disease states. Its dwindling levels may be directly related to how we cope with these modern day stressors. Beyond declining with age, NAD is linked to resiliency because of the vital role it plays in both energy production, and the optimal function of our cells’ powerhouses (the mitochondria). More broadly, NAD supports a healthy cellular metabolism and repair processes. The molecule NAD helps practically every process by which cells break down food and build up and repair molecules like fats, DNA, and hormones.
What is NR?
Although researchers have known about nicotinamide riboside (NR) for decades, its full value as a nutrient wasn’t uncovered until 2004 when biochemist Dr. Charles Brenner and his team of researchers at Dartmouth discovered that it was a novel form of vitamin B that could serve as an NAD+ precursor. While the vitamin B3 family can be used by our cells to build new NAD+ molecules, Dr. Brenner and colleagues discovered that NR is distinct; it uses a specific pathway to convert NR into NAD+, called the nicotinamide riboside kinase (or NRK) pathway.
Studies in cells and mice have shown that the NRK genes – which are necessary for converting NR into NAD+ – are activated by conditions of physiological stress, including poor diet and viral infection, while other more energy consuming NAD-producing pathways from common vitamin B3s are suppressed. This research suggests that NR is cells’ preferred NAD+ precursor when energy is low.
The first human clinical study of NR was published in 2016. The results demonstrated that NR was a safe and effective nutrient in people. Healthy aging, intrinsic capacity, mitochondrial health, and NAD+ have emerged as intense areas of focus in the research community.