The study recruited 17 postmenopausal women (average age 55.0 years) without underlying diseases. Without changing their lifestyle, they took 300mg of pure NMN every morning for a total of 8 weeks. Finally, 16 of them completed the study. The effect of NMN is confirmed by measuring multiple indicators of the body and evaluating the participants' feelings. The results reconfirmed the safety of NMN and found favorable changes in many biomarkers.
1. NMN increases adiponectin and DHEA-s levels
After taking NMN for 8 weeks in postmenopausal women, adiponectin increased significantly from 13.6 to 16.2 µg/mL, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate DHEA-s increased from 1108 to 1275 ng/mL.
Adiponectin is an endogenous bioactive polypeptide or protein secreted by adipocytes. Adiponectin is an insulin-sensitizing hormone. Animal experiments have found that it can improve insulin resistance and atherosclerosis in mice; studies on humans have found that adiponectin levels can predict the development of type II diabetes and coronary heart disease, and Shown anti-diabetic, anti-atherogenic and anti-inflammatory potential in clinical trials.
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is an endogenous steroid hormone secreted by the zona reticularis of the adrenal cortex. It is an indirect precursor of hormones such as estradiol and testosterone. It also has various anti-aging effects different from sex hormones. DHEA levels decrease with age and are associated with an increased incidence of various aging problems such as osteoporosis, immune aging, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and diabetes.
DHEA mainly exists in the human body in the form of DHEA-s. Data show that DHEA-s in human blood peaks at the age of 20-30, and is much less at the age of 60. Especially for postmenopausal women, low levels of DHEA-s can easily lead to many health problems.
It is worth noting that although the level of DHEA-s increased, it did not affect the levels of sex hormones (estradiol, free testosterone) and thyroid hormones. This also illustrates the security of NMN again.
2. NMN improves skin and reduces glycation
"Anti-glycation" is a hot topic in skin anti-aging in recent years. With the increase of age, the decrease of metabolic level, as well as stress, irregular living and eating habits and other reasons, the sugar (carbohydrate) we consume accumulates in the body, and reacts with collagen to form a "glycation reaction" terminal glycosylation product AGEs. The accumulation of AGEs in the skin will cause the skin to appear aging, sagging, and dull.
After taking NMN, the AF value reflecting the amount of AGEs in the skin decreased significantly.
In addition, skin changes were assessed by visual analog scale, and 6 of 7 VAS items (moisture, dry skin, age spots, skin elasticity, make-up, rough skin, and acne) were significantly improved.
3. Many improvements in taking experience
After 8 weeks of oral NMN, the subjects felt improvements in several aspects:
Improve skin (reduce spots, fine lines and freckles, moisturize skin, lighten fine lines, whiten);
Improved sleep (sleep better, fall asleep easier, wake up better in the morning);
Fatigue and physical health (reduced fatigue, recovery from fatigue, better mobility, faster running, less muscle pain after exercise).
Others include warmer body (increased sensitivity to cold), less eye strain, better night vision, less allergic eye symptoms, less weight gain, less drunkenness, improved constipation, shinier hair, faster hair growth , increased appetite, better mood, less joint pain, more agile thinking, etc.
4. Increase of NAD+ metabolite nicotinamide (NAM)
Interestingly, after taking NMN for 8 weeks, it was found that there was no change in the level of NMN in the blood, but NAD+ decreased and NAM increased. What's going on here?
In fact, previous studies have found that NMN and NAD+ have a short residence time in the blood and will be quickly absorbed and utilized by tissues. Therefore, to understand their changes, it is necessary to measure them ten minutes to an hour after taking them. The researchers believe that due to the late measurement time at the 8th week, the NMN and NAD+ in the blood have been absorbed and utilized, and converted into metabolites, and nicotinamide NAM is the metabolite of NAD+.
However, this also hints at the limitations of a single NMN. NAM belongs to vitamin B3. Deficiency will lead to diseases such as pellagra and bring health risks, but too much will also cause metabolic burden, and some studies have found that NAM can inhibit sirtuins and attenuate the effect of NMN.
The metabolism of NAM is mainly affected by two aspects: one is the activity of the transferase NAMPT, which can be converted into NMN for recycling; Consume methyl groups. It means that while supplementing NMN, increasing the activity of transferase (through antioxidant components or exercise) and supplementing methyl (methyl donor) will bring better improvement.
