Vitamins and minerals have been recommended as beneficial for one's health. Vitamin supplementation has been encouraged to add necessary ones that might not be taken enough from simply eating food. A newly discovered form of Vitamin B3 has just been tested on humans to see how safe it would be.
A new form of Vitamin B3 has been discovered, called nicotinamide riboside, or NR. With the recent test trial it has been shown that the new form of Vitamin B3 is safe for humans, according to Science Daily.
Studies have already been made on mice using NR. It has been found that NR has a number of health benefits, which include boosting a cell metabolite known as NAD+. Boosting NAD+ can reduce weight gain and control of blood sugar and cholesterol levels, among its other benefits. Over-the-counter supplements of NR have been available since the vitamin has been discovered, though many of these supplements have not undergone human test trials.
Now a study led by Dr. Charles Brenner, Professor and Roy J. Carver chair of Biochemistry at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine has been made. The study has been made in collaboration with the Queens University Belfast and ChromaDex Corp. Brenner is a consultant for ChromaDex as well as co-founder and Chief Scientific Adviser for ProHealthspan.
The trial was made with 12 participants, divided into six men and six women. The trial had the participants receive oral doses of NR ranging from 100 mg up to 1,000 mg in different sequences. A seven-day gap was allotted between doses. Blood and urine samples were taken from the participants and analyzed to measure NAD+ metabolites, as Eureka Alert reports.
The trial has shown that with the increase in dosage NAD+ metabolism has also increased. This shows a relation between the amount of NR dosage taken and NAD+ metabolism. No side effects were noted with the increase in NR dosage.
"This trial shows that oral NR safely boosts human NAD+ metabolism," Brenner observed. The next study would involve a longer NR supplementation period. Also being considered is giving NR to people with health issues such as cholesterol, obesity and diabetes. NR naturally could be found in trace amounts in such products like milk and beer. Before the study as well Brenner has tested NR by taking NR supplements himself.
Recently also a receptor has been detected that could block breast cancer.
