PeptideSearch

Nicotinamide Riboside

Tested in people

Get notified when the evidence changes.

It has been tested in people, but it is not an approved medicine. The studies are usually small.

Compiled and reviewed by the PeptideSearch Editorial Team · Status checked 2026-09-04

Also called NR / Niagen / Nicotinamide Riboside Chloride

A form of vitamin B3 the body turns into NAD+. Sold as a capsule. Tested in people in small trials for nerve, brain and heart problems.

The body turns nicotinamide riboside into NAD+, so the two are often talked about as one thing. They are separate molecules, given in different ways: see what the research shows on NAD+.

Nicotinamide mononucleotide is the other common building block sold for the same purpose. It has its own separate trials: see what the research shows on Nicotinamide Mononucleotide.

The basics

What is it?
A form of vitamin B3. The body converts it into NAD+, the fuel-handling molecule inside cells. It is swallowed as a capsule, not injected.
What do we know?
Small trials in people show it does raise NAD+ levels in blood, and it has been tested for safety at high doses in Parkinson's disease.
What do we still not know?
Whether raising NAD+ this way changes how anyone actually feels or how a disease progresses. Most trials are small and short.

Official status: Not nominated for 503A compounding · Checked 2026-09-04

Can a doctor prescribe this?

Small pharmacy (503A)
Never put forward to FDA
Large outsourcing facility (503B)
Never put forward to FDA

Not an FDA-approved medicine. It is sold in the United States as a dietary supplement ingredient, which is a different legal route from pharmacy compounding. Nobody has put it forward for pharmacies to make as a medicine.

503A is a pharmacy making a single prescription for one patient. 503B is a facility making batches. They are governed by separate lists. Where a category is shown, it is a position on the FDA's list of substances that have been put forward and are still being worked through — not the final list, which is set by rulemaking. Category 1 means the FDA does not plan to act against a pharmacy that makes it while the review runs.

What happens next

A reading of the FDA nominated-substance lists and the new dietary ingredient record for nicotinamide riboside before any status is published.

Supplement rules and pharmacy compounding rules are different laws. Neither answer should be guessed from the other.

Doses used in research

Taken word for word from the studies and trials listed on this page. This is not a recommendation and not a dose for anyone to take.

Spot an error? corrections@peptidesearch.org

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