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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, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries, has entered into an ingredient supply agreement with Healthy Directions, a direct-to-consumer nutritional supplement retailer and wholly-owned subsidiary of Helen of Troy Limited.
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ChromaDex’s NIAGEN™ is the first and only commercially available form of nicotinamide riboside (NR), a naturally occurring no-flush vitamin B3 metabolite found in milk. Published research has shown that NR is perhaps the most effective precursor to boost the co-enzyme NAD+ in the cell. NAD+ is thought to be the most important cellular co-factor for improvement of mitochondrial performance and energy.
In recent years, NAD+ has also been recognized as an extracellular signaling molecule involved in cell-to-cell communication. NAD+ is essential in supporting healthy cellular metabolism, including the efficient conversion of blood glucose into energy.
Connie Hallquist, president of Healthy Directions commented, "We are thrilled to have put into place a NIAGEN supply agreement with ChromaDex. We always seek the best suppliers of unique, research-supported ingredients, which are building blocks of products that address the needs and improve the lives of our customers. We believe NIAGEN is among the most compelling nutritional supplement ingredients introduced in recent years. The story behind nicotinamide riboside as an effective precursor to increase intracellular levels of NAD+ and its effects on anti-aging should be noteworthy to our customers. We plan on introducing products featuring NIAGEN soon."
Frank Jaksch, founder and CEO of ChromaDex stated, "We are proud to add Healthy Directions as a NIAGEN customer. Given its health benefits, we believe there is a strong argument for inclusion of NIAGEN into a myriad of consumer products – either as a featured or complementary ingredient. We are excited that Healthy Directions has chosen to introduce products to its vast customer base that include our NIAGEN nicotinamide riboside."
Sometimes referred to as the "hidden vitamin," NR is found naturally in trace amounts in milk and other foods and is a more potent, no-flush version of Niacin (vitamin B3). Published research has shown that NR is perhaps the most effective booster of NAD+, an essential metabolite found in all cells. NAD+ is arguably the most important cellular co-factor for the improvement of mitochondrial performance and energy metabolism. Mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell where macronutrients are converted to energy the cell can use. Mitochondria also play an important part in the aging process.
Scientists hope that the stimulation of mitochondrial function with NR may result in increased longevity as well as other health improvements. Researchers worldwide are continuing to make seminal discoveries characterizing the unique properties of NR in a wide range of health benefits. These include increased mitochondrial health, increased muscle endurance, neuroprotection, sirtuin activation, protection against weight gain on high-fat diet, protection against oxidative stress and improvement of blood glucose and insulin sensitivity.
A study by researchers from Harvard Medical School in conjunction with the National Institute on Aging, published in December 2013 in Cell, demonstrated that mitochondrial dysfunction (a hallmark of aging) in aging mice is due to a disruption in Sirtuin1-dependent nuclear-mitochondrial communication. The study further showed that a reduction in NAD+ levels is responsible for this disruption. Excitingly, the study demonstrated that this mitochondrial dysfunction is readily reversible by the administration of a NAD+ precursor. The study reported that "1 week of treatment with a compound that boosts NAD+ levels is sufficient to restore the mitochondrial homeostasis and key biochemical markers of muscle health in a 22-month-old mouse to levels similar to a 6-month-old mouse," indicating that some aspects of aging may be theoretically reversible.
Separately, findings from a 2012 study conducted by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College and the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Switzerland showed that mice on a high-fat diet which were fed NR gained 60 percent less weight than mice eating the same high-fat diet without NR. Moreover, unlike the mice that were not fed NR, none of the NR-treated mice had indications that they were developing diabetes and their energy and lower cholesterol levels improved, all without side effects. The Swiss researchers were quoted as saying the effects of NR on metabolism were "nothing short of astonishing."