Nicotinamide mononucleotide slows down aging

Researchers at the University of Washington, working under the guidance of Professor Shin-ichiro Imai, have confirmed that the addition of nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) to the diet of healthy aging mice restores metabolism and energy productivity to the levels of a young organism.

The state of human health largely depends on the efficiency of energy production and use by the body. For reasons unclear to date, the ability of cells to produce energy decreases with age, which led researchers to believe that a stable decrease in the efficiency of the body's energy chain is a key driving mechanism of the aging process.

The authors demonstrated that this decrease in energy production in the body of healthy aging mice can be compensated by adding the natural compound nicotinamide mononucleotide to water, which suppresses the development of typical signs of aging, such as a gradual increase in body weight, a decrease in tissue sensitivity to insulin and a decrease in physical activity.

According to Professor Imai, human and mouse cells use the same mechanism of energy production, so the researchers hope that this approach can be used to preserve health in old age.

With age, cells gradually lose the ability to synthesize nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), which is a key component of the mechanism of energy synthesis. In an earlier study, the authors demonstrated that in many mouse tissues, NAD levels decrease as they age, but adding the compound to the feed did not provide an increase in its concentration in the body. In search of a method for indirectly increasing NAD levels in tissues, they stopped at the use of nicotinamide mononucleotide, which is an earlier link in the chain of NAD synthesis.

Nicotinamide mononucleotide is found in some vegetables, including broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, green soybeans and avocados. The results of a new study by the authors showed that when this compound is added to drinking water, it appears in the bloodstream less than 3 minutes after drinking water. Moreover, the NMN entering the blood in many tissues was quickly converted into NAD.

To assess the long-term effects of the use of NMN, the researchers conducted an experiment on three groups of healthy male mice who received regular food. Starting from the age of 5 months, one group of mice received water with a high content of NMH, the second group received water with a low content of NMH, and the third group did not receive this compound and acted as a control group. The authors compared various aspects of the physiological state of the animals at the beginning of the experiment and every subsequent three months until the animals reached the age of 17 months. (Usually, the lifespan of laboratory mice is about two years.)

The collected data demonstrated a number of positive effects of NMN, including improvement of muscle tissue, liver function, bone density, vision, tissue sensitivity to insulin, immune system functioning, body weight and physical activity level. However, all these improvements were manifested only in aging mice, and the body of young mice did not react in any way to the addition of NMH in the diet, since its cells already produced a sufficient amount of this compound.

In particular, NMH normalized the energy metabolism of skeletal muscles by improving the functioning of mitochondria, which act as an energy generator. In addition, the mice receiving NMN gained less weight as they aged, even if they ate a large amount of food. Apparently, this was due to the fact that their enhanced metabolism provided the release of more energy needed for physical activity. In addition to improving retinal functions, NMN increased the production of tears, the intensity of which often decreases with age. And the marked improvement in tissue sensitivity to insulin observed at the same time was maintained even when adjusting for differences in body weight.

Figure from an article in Cell Metabolism

In an earlier publication, the authors described in more detail the mechanisms of NAD's effect on glucose metabolism in adipose tissue. The mice used in the study had impaired ability to synthesize NAD in adipose tissue. The remaining tissues and organs synthesized a normal amount of the compound.

Experiments have shown that selective violation of NAD synthesis in adipose tissue disrupted metabolism throughout the body, including in skeletal muscles, heart muscle, liver, and also changed the concentration of lipids in the blood. The addition of NMN to the diet of these animals eliminated these disorders. This indicates that the production of NAD in adipose tissue is a critical regulator of metabolism throughout the body.

As part of a long-term study on healthy mice, the authors also monitored the potential increase in the risk of developing cancer against the background of the use of NMN, since some cancer cells have an increased ability to synthesize NAD. However, they did not reveal any differences between the three experimental groups.

Currently, Professor Imai is collaborating with colleagues from Keio University in Tokyo to conduct a phase 1 clinical trial aimed at evaluating the safety of human nicotinamide mononucleotide intake. The NMN used in the study is produced by Oriental Yeast, however, commercially available drugs suitable for human use do not exist today.

From the editorial office:
Hopefully, clinical trials will successfully pass all stages and regulatory authorities will approve the use of nicotinamide mononucleotide as a geroprotector. And the main thing is that pharmacologists will be able to make the drug commercially available not only for very rich people. Judging by the data of the previous study, 0.5 grams of NMN is required for 1 kg of weight (35 g for 70 kg). You can buy it, for example, here – 3.6 g (30 capsules of 120 mg), and only for $57.97 + $5.70 per shipment. Judging by the drawings in Google for the query "nicotinamide mononucleotide" – and in many other places, but it is hardly fundamentally cheaper. Can you afford to spend about $600 every day for decades, even for guaranteed delayed old age?

Article by Kathryn F. Mills et al. The Long-Term Administration of Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Mitigates Age-Associated Physiological Decline in Mice is published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of Washington University School of Medicine: Natural compound reduces signs of aging in healthy mice.

03.11.2016