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news.ChromaDex, an innovative natural products company that provides proprietary ingredients and science-based solutions to the dietary supplement, food and beverage, animal health, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries, announced today the initiation of the first human clinical study for its patented ingredient NIAGEN, the first and only commercially available form of nicotinamide riboside (NR).
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The study will engage the laboratory of Dr. Charles Brenner, Roy J. Carver Chair of Biochemistry and Professor of Internal Medicine at University of Iowa. Brenner, is credited with discovery of NR as a vitamin in organisms from yeast to people as published in Cell in 2004.
The human clinical study is designed to determine the pharmacokinetics (PK) and bioavailability of NIAGEN™ as well as provide information about an effective NR dose range in humans. Most importantly, this study aims to confirm earlier animal studies conducted by various universities and research institutes, which showed that oral dosing of the compound results in an increased level of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) and NAD+ metabolites in the body.
Published research has shown that NR is perhaps the most effective precursor to boost the co-enzyme NAD+ in the cell. NAD+ is arguably the most important cellular co-factor for improvement of mitochondrial performance and energy. In recent years, NAD+ has also been shown to participate as an extracellular signaling molecule in cell-to-cell communication. NAD+ is essential in supporting healthy cellular metabolism including the efficient conversion of blood glucose into energy.
As organisms age, NAD+ levels drop, which leads to a decrease in mitochondrial health; this in turn leads to age-related health issues. Low NAD+ levels limit activity of a group of enzymes called sirtuins, which are believed to play a key role in longevity. NAD+ levels can be depleted by lifestyle choices such as overeating and lack of exercise. By boosting NAD+, NR can increase mitochondrial health and induce creation of new mitochondria.
Frank Jaksch, Jr., founder and CEO of ChromaDex, commented, "The primary goal of this human study is to confirm previous published research in animals showing that NR is an effective precursor to NAD+. Confirming that NR leads to a meaningful increase in NAD+ metabolites in humans is perhaps the single most important clinical endpoint in proving that NR will have significant impact on human health."
Jaksch continued, "Confirming that NR leads to a meaningful increase in NAD+ in humans should also be an incredible driver with respect building consumer awareness for NIAGEN™ as well as increased interest for the ingredient by both consumer products companies as well as pharmaceutical companies interested in therapeutic applications of NIAGEN™."
ChromaDex’s NIAGEN™ is supported by five patents issued and several pending, with patents rights acquired from Cornell University, Dartmouth College and Washington University. In addition to the human clinical study, ChromaDex is actively collaborating with numerous leading universities and research institutes on the health benefits of NIAGEN™, including a recent partnership with Wageningen University in the Netherlands.