Nicotinamide riboside (NR) is a form of vitamin B3 that the cell converts into NAD+, the coenzyme that underpins cellular energy production. In supplements it is used as nicotinamide riboside chloride, authorised in Europe with a maximum daily amount defined for adults. This page covers what it is, what it is for, how it works, what the trials measured, the doses, safety and how to choose it.
What is nicotinamide riboside?
Nicotinamide riboside is one of the forms of vitamin B3 that the body knows how to use. It is a nucleoside —a base joined to a sugar—: nicotinamide joined to a ribose, the five-carbon sugar of the RNA backbone.
That piece opens up a route of its own towards NAD+, the coenzyme involved in cellular energy production, in DNA repair and in the activity of the sirtuins, a group of enzymes that need NAD+ in order to work; what NAD+ is and what it does inside the cell is explained separately.
It was identified as a nutrient in 2004, together with the two enzymes that transform it inside the cell: the kinases NRK1 and NRK2. It is also present in the diet: Trammell and colleagues, in J Nutr (2016), measured it by mass spectrometry in cow's milk, at around 1 milligram per litre, a figure that puts the scale in its place better than any argument.
What is it for? Functions recognised at European level
As a form of vitamin B3, nicotinamide riboside provides niacin, and niacin's contribution to two of the body's functions is recognised at European level. It is the ingredient's firm ground.
Normal energy-yielding metabolism
Niacin contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism: the set of reactions with which the cell converts what you eat into usable energy. It is the function that explains why NAD+ sits at the centre of this ingredient, because the coenzyme that niacin ends up forming is the intermediary in those reactions.
Reduction of tiredness and fatigue
Niacin also contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, and that contribution holds above a certain amount. The two formulations with nicotinamide riboside in the portfolio exceed it comfortably: 41.34 and 124 mg of niacin equivalents a day, 258% and 775% of an adult's daily reference intake.
What it is called: NR, nicotinamide riboside and the chloride
Few ingredients are written in so many ways, and here the nomenclature changes what is inside the capsule. Nicotinamide riboside, shortened to NR, is the English name and the term this molecule is most often searched for, including from Spain. In Spanish, «nicotinamida ribósido» and «ribósido de nicotinamida» coexist, shortened to NR and RN: they name the same thing. Niagen® is a trade name for that same salt, not a different molecule.
What does change the content is nicotinamide riboside chloride. The ingredient authorised in Europe is not free nicotinamide riboside but its chloride salt, with a minimum purity of 90%, and the authorisation requires it to be named that way on the label. The salt has weight of its own, so two labels with the same number do not always say the same thing: you have to look at whether those milligrams are of the salt or of the molecule alone.
How it works: from the capsule to NAD+
The argument begins with a limitation of the coenzyme itself: NAD+ taken by mouth does not reach the bloodstream intact. The reference absorption work, by Gross and Henderson in J Nutr (1983) and carried out in animal intestine, described how it is taken apart before passing into the circulation. The workable route is to give the cell the material it builds it from.
The cellular route is short: it enters the cell through nucleoside transporters, the kinases NRK1 and NRK2 convert it into NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide) and the NMNAT enzymes complete the step to NAD+. Two steps, outside the classical route, the one followed by the niacin in food.
In January 2026 a nuance arrived. A randomised, open-label, placebo-controlled trial by Christen and colleagues, in Nat Metab, compared 14 days of nicotinamide, nicotinamide riboside and NMN in 65 healthy adults; with human microbiota in a test tube (ex vivo) it observed that nicotinamide riboside and NMN give rise to nicotinic acid, and its authors propose that this intestinal conversion is the main route by which blood NAD+ rises.
There are two described routes, the cellular one and the intestinal one, and the weight of each is still being settled.
What the trials in people measured
Information note: The information in this section is for general educational purposes and is based on published scientific research. It does not constitute medical advice or a clinical recommendation. Several of the trials cited were carried out in people with a diagnosed condition and their results cannot be extrapolated to healthy people. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting any supplementation.
| Study | Who, how much and for how long | What it documented |
|---|---|---|
| Conze, Sci Rep, 2019 | 140 healthy overweight adults, in four groups of 35; 100, 300 or 1,000 mg/day, 8 weeks | NAD+ in whole blood: +22%, +51% and +142%. No case of flushing |
| Elhassan, Cell Rep, 2019 | 12 aged men; 1,000 mg/day, 21 days. Crossover | NAAD rose in aged muscle; muscle NAD+ did not change |
| McDermott (NICE), Nat Commun, 2024 | 90 people with peripheral artery disease, in three groups of around 30; 1,000 mg/day, 6 months | Six-minute walk test: +17.6 m versus placebo, with the one-sided criterion set by the authors |
| Norheim, Nat Aging, 2024 | 40 patients with stable COPD; 2,000 mg/day, 6 weeks | Interleukin-8 in sputum: −52.6% versus placebo. Interleukin-6 in plasma did not move |
| Dollerup, Am J Clin Nutr, 2018 | 40 men with obesity; 2,000 mg/day, 12 weeks | Negative primary endpoint: insulin sensitivity did not change |
All five are randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled. Several are funded by manufacturers of the ingredient: they are cited for their data, not for their sponsorship.
The best-measured finding: the rise in NAD+ is proportional to the dose
In the only published dose-response trial, the rise in blood NAD+ followed the amount taken: visible as early as two weeks and sustained until the end. The lowest step too, 100 mg a day, moved the marker significantly. For a food supplement to shift a biochemical parameter measurably and in proportion to the dose is not the norm in this sector.
How much NAD+ in blood rose, by daily dose
Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 140 healthy adults with overweight, split into four groups, over 8 weeks. The percentages are the rise in whole-blood NAD+ from baseline. Conze, Brenner and Kruger, Sci Rep, 2019.
What reaches the tissue and what the trials did not find
Raising a figure in blood is worth nothing if it does not reach where it has to reach, and there the answer is partial: in aged muscle, NAAD —a marker of NAD+ synthesis— rose and circulating inflammatory cytokines, the signals with which cells switch inflammation on and off, fell, but muscle NAD+ did not change, nor did mitochondrial bioenergetics.
In functional endpoints there is a single positive result, and in a population with a diagnosed condition: the six-minute walk test of the NICE trial, the test that measures how far someone walks in that time. In COPD —chronic obstructive pulmonary disease— what fell was a marker of inflammation.
The table also contains negative results, and leaving them out would be telling half the story. A meta-analysis —an analysis that combines several trials— by Prokopidis and colleagues, in J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle (2025), brought together the trials of nicotinamide riboside and NMN in people over 60 and found no effect on muscle mass, grip strength or gait speed; and in a phase II trial by Martens and colleagues (2026), in mild cognitive impairment, NAD+ doubled without any improvement in cognitive function.
A critical review of 25 human studies published in Sci Adv in 2023 summed it up like this: in functional endpoints, few clinically relevant effects to date; the authors themselves leave open the line of the inflammatory markers, the one those two trials measured.
If the question is whether to take it on its own or in a formula, that is covered in taking nicotinamide riboside alone or combined with resveratrol, pterostilbene or trimethylglycine (TMG).
Forms of vitamin B3: NR, niacin, NMN and NADH
Several molecules aim at the same destination by different paths: it is the comparison most often asked for and the one that generates the most misunderstandings.
| Form | How it enters the NAD+ route | What characterises it |
|---|---|---|
| Niacin (nicotinic acid) | Through the classical vitamin B3 route | At high doses it produces flushing with reddening of the skin |
| Nicotinamide riboside | A route of its own: NRK1/NRK2 → NMN → NAD+, plus the intestinal conversion | The new-generation precursor with the most randomised trials in people —31 against the 16 of NMN, as of August 2026— and the only one with a maximum daily amount set in Europe. Up to 1,000 mg a day, without flushing |
| NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide) | It is the next step on the same route | In the only direct comparison published up to August 2026 it raises NAD+ as much as nicotinamide riboside. As at that date it is not authorised as a novel food in the EU |
Two of the family are missing. Nicotinamide (niacinamide) enters through the salvage pathway, the internal recycling of nicotinamide itself, and does not produce flushing: in the 2026 comparison it raised NAD+ acutely and transiently, and at nutritional amounts it is the usual form of vitamin B3. NADH is not a precursor but the reduced form of the coenzyme, and its research in humans has been directed at other endpoints: the detail is in how it differs from NADH.
From this comes a reading that is not the one usually sold: what separates nicotinamide riboside from NMN today is not potency, but that one is authorised in Europe and the other is not, with the European assessment completed since 2020 and years of trials done with that same material.
Doses: the ones in the trials and the one Europe authorises
Three numbers worth not mixing up: the range studied, the ceiling Europe authorises and the figure on the front of many packs.
Table of daily doses used in research
| What was studied | Daily dose | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Dose-response of NAD+ in blood, in healthy adults | 100, 300 and 1,000 mg | 8 weeks |
| Populations with a diagnosed condition | 1,000 to 2,000 mg | From 6 weeks to 6 months |
| Maximum authorised in Europe (general adult population) | 300 mg | — |
The first two rows are research amounts. The ceiling puts the rest in order: nicotinamide riboside chloride is authorised in Europe as an ingredient of food supplements, with a maximum daily dose defined for adults: 300 mg a day for the general adult population and 230 mg a day in pregnancy and breastfeeding.
With an uncommon practical consequence: the amount with which the 51% rise in NAD+ was documented is exactly the one Europe authorises.
How much each lever raises it is in what really raises NAD+, and by how much; and what time to take it, in the article on the timing of the dose.
The third is the one most searched for and least explained: the “900 mg” on many front labels, which is almost never nicotinamide riboside, but the sum of the whole formula. In the nutrition information on the back, look for nicotinamide riboside by name and check its amount per daily dose. For reference, 900 mg of the chloride would be three times the maximum authorised in Europe.
Important note: the doses mentioned correspond to those used in research. They do not constitute a dose recommendation. Consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting any supplementation.
Safety and side effects of nicotinamide riboside
It is among the ingredients in its category with the most tolerance data collected within controlled trials, and the profile that comes out of them is unremarkable. Even so, there are situations in which the daily amount changes or in which it is worth seeking advice first.
Adverse effects recorded in the trials
- Mild and transient digestive discomfort: the most described are nausea or stomach upset, mild in intensity and with no dose-dependent pattern.
- No differences versus placebo up to 1,000 mg a day for 8 weeks: neither in adverse effects nor in liver and kidney parameters. The small variations in the blood count stayed within the reference ranges, were not dose-dependent and were not considered clinically relevant.
Who should seek advice before taking it
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding: the authorised daily amount is lower, 230 mg, and the trials did not include these populations.
- Diagnosed liver or kidney disease: seek medical advice first.
- Ongoing cancer treatment: it has not been studied in people with an active cancer. Any supplementation must be decided by the oncologist.
- Disorders of vitamin B3 metabolism and multiple medication: seek medical advice first.
Interactions: what is known and what is not
There is a lot of noise circulating here. The statements one reads about interaction with anticoagulants, with oral antidiabetics or with treatments with a narrow margin are not supported by a traceable primary source, so they are not repeated here. The one front that was examined within a trial —one-carbon metabolism, the route that manages methyl group donors— was not altered over 8 weeks. Anyone on an active treatment should seek medical advice before starting.
How to choose a nicotinamide riboside supplement
Five checks, all verifiable on the label before buying:
- That it says “chloride”: the correct name is nicotinamide riboside chloride. A label announcing “pure nicotinamide riboside” obliges you to guess how much salt there is inside.
- That the amount is per daily dose, not per capsule: a product of three capsules a day declaring “100 mg per capsule” provides 300 mg a day. If only the per-capsule figure appears, multiply before comparing.
- That the daily amount does not exceed the authorised maximum —300 mg a day for the general adult population— and is within the range in which the rise in NAD+ has been measured, which starts at 100 mg a day.
- Which bulking agent it carries: look at the full list, not the front of the pack. That it is declared and recognisable —an acacia fibre, for example— says more about the manufacturer than any marketing line.
- How it is packaged: it is sensitive to moisture. An aluminium blister or a well-sealed jar, with the storage conditions written on the pack.
Nicotinamide riboside in the Pleniage portfolio
Nicotinamide riboside is in two complementary formulations in the Pleniage portfolio. All the amounts are per daily dose:
- PLENIAGE® NR NAD+ 300 mg (single-ingredient): 300 mg a day of nicotinamide riboside chloride in one capsule, and 124 mg of niacin equivalents, 775% of the reference intake. It covers in full the maximum authorised in Europe for the general adult population; in pregnancy and breastfeeding the amount set is lower, 230 mg, and a single capsule does not allow adjustment. One single active, with acacia fibre (Fibregum) as the only excipient. For those looking for the isolated precursor.
- PLENIAGE® PRO NAD+ NR Advanced Edition: 100 mg a day of nicotinamide riboside chloride in two capsules —within the range in which the rise in NAD+ has been measured, which starts at 100 mg a day—, with resveratrol 294 mg, berberine 145.5 mg, quercetin 142.5 mg, vitamin C 77.6 mg, hyaluronic acid 72 mg and piperine 4.75 mg, and 41.34 mg of niacin equivalents, 258% of the reference intake. Fibregum as the only bulking agent. Each ingredient has individual scientific research behind it; the specific combination of this formula has not been the subject of a clinical trial of its own. For those looking to accompany the precursor with polyphenols in a single dose; the comparison is in single-ingredient and synergistic formulas.
Why 100 mg in one and 300 in the other. It is not the same formulation decision. The Advanced Edition starts from a moderate amount of the precursor, intended for a supply sustained over time rather than for a rapid rise, and devotes the rest of the formula to the polyphenols and the other actives, which work on other pieces of the same axis.
The single-ingredient one does the opposite: it concentrates everything in the precursor and takes it up to the maximum authorised for the adult population. Whoever wants the highest amount of precursor has the single-ingredient one; whoever wants the precursor accompanied, the Advanced Edition.
This page forms part of the Cellular vitality cluster and, because of the niacin it provides, of the energy and performance guide.
Frequently asked questions about nicotinamide riboside
What is nicotinamide riboside (NR) for?
It is a form of vitamin B3 and, as such, it provides niacin: niacin's contribution to normal energy-yielding metabolism and to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue is recognised at European level. Beyond that, what has been investigated is its capacity to raise NAD+: in a trial with 35 adults per group, 300 mg a day for 8 weeks raised it by 51% in blood.
Are nicotinamide riboside and nicotinamide riboside chloride the same thing?
The molecule is the same, the amount is not. “Nicotinamide riboside” is the English name; in Spanish, «nicotinamida ribósido» and «ribósido de nicotinamida» coexist. What changes the content of the capsule is the salt: the ingredient authorised in Europe is the chloride, and the label has to name it that way. That is why it is worth looking at whether the milligrams a label declares are of the salt or of the molecule alone.
What daily amount of nicotinamide riboside is authorised in Europe?
Nicotinamide riboside chloride is authorised in Europe as an ingredient of food supplements with a maximum daily dose defined for adults: 300 mg a day for the general adult population, and 230 mg in pregnancy and breastfeeding. The higher figures in the trials, from 1,000 to 2,000 mg a day, are research amounts.
Can nicotinamide riboside be taken during pregnancy or breastfeeding?
The daily amount authorised in Europe is lower in pregnancy and breastfeeding: 230 mg a day, against the 300 mg of the general adult population. The published trials did not include these populations, and a one-capsule product with the full amount does not allow adjusting downwards. Consult your doctor or your midwife before taking any supplement.
Does nicotinamide riboside have side effects?
The most described in the trials are nausea or stomach upset, mild and transient in intensity. Up to 1,000 mg a day for 8 weeks there were no differences versus placebo in adverse effects, no clinically relevant changes in liver, kidney or blood parameters, and not one case of flushing. With liver or kidney disease, cancer treatment or long-term medication, seek advice before starting.
When a pack says “900 mg”, is that 900 mg of nicotinamide riboside?
Almost never. That figure is usually the sum of all the ingredients in the formula: the most repeated search is literally “nicotinamide riboside resveratrol 900 mg”. The check is quick: in the nutrition information on the back, look for nicotinamide riboside by name and check its amount per daily dose. Besides, 900 mg would be three times the maximum authorised in Europe.
What remains open is how much of the biochemistry translates into functional results: the trials have produced positives and negatives, and the durations are still short.
What is firm stands on its own: it is the new-generation NAD+ precursor with the most randomised trials published in people and the only one with the European novel food authorisation completed and a maximum daily amount defined; it raises NAD+ in blood in proportion to the dose and in a sustained way, and that increase leaves a measurable trace in aged muscle.
If you are considering adding it, weigh up with your doctor or your pharmacist whether it fits your situation.
At PLENIAGE® we publish scientific content on evidence-based supplementation. You can explore the Cellular vitality cluster for more ingredient pages and related articles.
References
Key verified references supporting the statements on this page.
- Gross CJ, Henderson LM. Digestion and absorption of NAD by the small intestine of the rat. J Nutr. 1983;113(2):412-420. PMID: 6218262.
- Christen S, Redeuil K, et al. The differential impact of three NAD+ boosters on circulatory NAD and microbial metabolism in humans. Nat Metab. 2026;8(1):62-73. PMID: 41540253.
- Trammell SA, Yu L, et al. Nicotinamide riboside is a major NAD+ precursor vitamin in cow milk. J Nutr. 2016;146(5):957-963. PMID: 27052539.
- Conze D, Brenner C, Kruger CL. Safety and metabolism of long-term administration of NIAGEN (nicotinamide riboside chloride) in healthy overweight adults. Sci Rep. 2019;9(1):9772. PMID: 31278280.
- Elhassan YS, Kluckova K, et al. Nicotinamide riboside augments the aged human skeletal muscle NAD+ metabolome. Cell Rep. 2019;28(7):1717-1728.e6. PMID: 31412242.
- McDermott MM, Martens CR, et al. Nicotinamide riboside for peripheral artery disease: the NICE randomized clinical trial. Nat Commun. 2024;15(1):5046. PMID: 38871717.
- Norheim KL, Ben Ezra M, et al. Effect of nicotinamide riboside on airway inflammation in COPD: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Nat Aging. 2024;4(12):1772-1781. PMID: 39548320.
- Dollerup OL, Christensen B, et al. A randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial of nicotinamide riboside in obese men. Am J Clin Nutr. 2018;108(2):343-353. PMID: 29992272.
- Prokopidis K, Kirwan R, et al. The effect of nicotinamide mononucleotide and riboside on skeletal muscle mass and function: a meta-analysis. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle. 2025;16(3):e13799. PMID: 40275690.
- Martens CR, et al. A phase-II randomized controlled pilot study of nicotinamide riboside in older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment. Alzheimers Dement. 2026;22(7):e71605. PMID: 42478598.
- Damgaard MV, Treebak JT. What is really known about the effects of nicotinamide riboside supplementation in humans. Sci Adv. 2023;9(29):eadi4862. PMID: 37478182.