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Ingredient guide

NMN benefits: what it does in the body and what trials found

Written by the Full Measure editorial team, which sells supplements. Approved for publication by the Full Measure owners. Updated .

Drafted with AI assistance from the sources listed below. How we write these

Quick answer

NMN is a compound related to vitamin B3 that the body turns into NAD+, a molecule cells need to release energy from food. Taken at 250 to 900 mg a day, it raises NAD+ in the blood, which is graded moderate. Trials have not shown reliable gains in strength, endurance or other health measures.1,2,3

Key facts

  • The body also makes NAD+ from other forms of vitamin B3 and from the amino acid tryptophan.4
  • Trials have used 250 to 2,000 mg a day for 14 days to 24 weeks, most often 250 mg.4,5
  • Europe's food safety agency judged up to 300 mg a day safe for adults who are not pregnant or breastfeeding.4
  • The richest foods measured contain under 2 mg of NMN per 100 g.6

What NMN is

NMN, short for beta-nicotinamide mononucleotide, is one of the building blocks cells use to make NAD+.4

NAD+ is a helper molecule cells use to release energy from food. The body makes it from forms of vitamin B3, and can make vitamin B3 from the amino acid tryptophan: about 60 mg of tryptophan yields 1 mg of niacin.4

Europe's food safety agency counts NMN as a source of nicotinamide, a form of vitamin B3: the body absorbs it, uses it to make NAD+, and breaks it down the same way as nicotinamide.4

Interest in NMN grew out of animal studies. Human trials are recent and small: in the trials Europe's assessors reviewed, 7 to 20 people per group took NMN, for 4 to 24 weeks.4

What the evidence shows

One effect meets our standard for a claim: NMN raises the amount of NAD+ in the blood. That is a lab measurement. Trials have not shown that it changes how people feel, look or perform. The results below set out what they did and did not find.1,3

Raises NAD+ levels in the blood*1,2,4

Moderate evidence

A meta-analysis of 12 randomized trials (513 adults) found that NMN raised blood NAD+, and a 60-day trial in 80 healthy adults aged 40 to 65 found increases at 300, 600 and 900 mg a day. The trials were small and short, several were funded by NMN makers, all carried some risk of bias, and the same meta-analysis found that most health outcomes were no different from placebo.

Amount studied: 250 to 900 mg a day, for up to 12 weeks

Across 12 randomized trials, most of the health measures checked, including blood fats, did not differ from placebo.1

In trials of adults over 60, NMN did not change grip strength, walking speed or muscle mass; nearly all of these trials used 250 mg a day.3

A 60-day trial of 80 adults aged 40 to 65, paid for by the NMN maker, reported longer six-minute walking distance at 300 to 900 mg a day. It has not been repeated.2

In 48 amateur runners training for six weeks, breathing-threshold measures changed more than with placebo at 600 and 1,200 mg a day, while maximal oxygen uptake and peak power did not change.7

How much people take

250 mg a day is the amount most NMN trials have used, including nearly all trials in adults over 60.3,4

In a 60-day trial that compared 300, 600 and 900 mg a day, blood NAD+ rose in all three groups and was highest at 600 and 900 mg.2

Europe's food safety agency judged NMN safe at up to 300 mg a day for adults, not including women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.4

The dosage guide lists the amount and length of each trial, and how NMN counts toward your vitamin B3.

Food, related compounds and labels

In the first study to measure NMN in foods, edamame, broccoli, cucumber and cabbage contained up to 1.88 mg per 100 g, and avocado and tomato 0.26 to 1.60 mg per 100 g.6,8

Human trials used highly pure beta-NMN, made by several different processes.4

Nicotinamide riboside is a closely related NAD+ precursor. In a 14-day trial of 65 healthy adults, NMN and nicotinamide riboside raised blood NAD+ by similar amounts, while plain nicotinamide did not.9

When NMN and urolithin A supplements bought online or in pharmacies were tested, the amount found ranged from 28.6% above the label to none at all.10

What's in ours

What’s in ours

  • NMN: β-Nicotinamide Mononucleotide, 500 mg per serving, from the label

Ours provides 500 mg per capsule. That is inside the 250 to 900 mg range that raised blood NAD+ in trials, and above the 300 mg a day that Europe's safety review covered.1,2,4

Side effects, and who should ask first

Across 15 randomized trials of 250 to 2,000 mg a day lasting up to 24 weeks, NMN did not increase side effects, serious side effects, dropouts for side effects, or the liver enzymes ALT and AST compared with placebo.5

Use for longer than 24 weeks has not been studied in trials, so long-term effects are unknown.4,5

Europe's food safety agency assessed NMN at up to 300 mg a day and judged that safe for adults who are not pregnant or breastfeeding. Its human data covered up to 900 mg a day for 60 days and 250 mg a day for 24 weeks. Counted as nicotinamide, 300 mg of NMN is about 110 mg, below the 900 mg a day upper level for nicotinamide.4

Europe counts NMN as a source of nicotinamide, so it adds to the vitamin B3 in multivitamins and in niacin, nicotinamide or nicotinamide riboside supplements.4

  • Ask your doctor first if you are pregnant or breastfeeding: trials excluded both, and Europe's safety review does not cover them4
  • Ask first if you are under 18
  • Ask first if you take insulin or another medicine for diabetes, because insulin after meals rose in a small trial of NMN11
  • Ask first if you take any other prescription medicine or have a medical condition
  • Ask first if you already take niacin, nicotinamide or nicotinamide riboside

The official sources we checked name no medicine that interacts with NMN, and we found no drug interaction study in people. That means interactions are unknown, not ruled out.

Questions people ask

What does NMN do in the body?

It gives cells more raw material for NAD+, and trials confirm that blood NAD+ goes up. Whether that changes health or how you feel has not been shown in people.1

Does NMN slow aging?

No human trial shows that. The idea comes from animal studies, and the human trials so far measured blood markers and short tests of function over weeks, not aging or lifespan.2,4

Does NMN do anything for skin?

A PubMed search in October 2026 found no human trial of NMN that measured skin, so there is nothing to grade.

Are the benefits different for men?

The trials enrolled men and women, and in one 14-day trial the rise in blood NAD+ was not related to sex. No benefit specific to men has been shown.12

Is NMN safe?

Trials lasting up to 24 weeks found side effects no more common than with placebo, at 250 to 2,000 mg a day. Longer use, pregnancy and breastfeeding have not been studied. The side effects guide has the details.4,5

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Sources

  1. Zhang J, Poon ET, Wong SH. Efficacy of oral nicotinamide mononucleotide supplementation on glucose and lipid metabolism for adults: a systematic review with meta-analysis on randomized controlled trials. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2025;65(22):4382-4400. Opened 2026-10-01.
  2. Yi L, Maier AB, Tao R, et al. The efficacy and safety of β-nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) supplementation in healthy middle-aged adults: a randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, dose-dependent clinical trial. Geroscience. 2023;45(1):29-43. Opened 2026-10-01.
  3. Prokopidis K, Moriarty F, Bahat G, McLean J, Church DD, Patel HP. The Effect of Nicotinamide Mononucleotide and Riboside on Skeletal Muscle Mass and Function: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle. 2025;16(3):e13799. Opened 2026-10-01.
  4. EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA); Turck D, Bohn T, Cámara M, et al. Safety of beta-nicotinamide mononucleotide (β-NMN) pursuant the regulation (EU) 2015/2283 and the bioavailability of nicotinamide from this source in the context of Directive 2002/46/EC. EFSA J. 2026;24(5):e10007. Opened 2026-10-01.
  5. Yang W, Huang J, Tang Z, Chen C, Sun Y. Safety and Metabolism-Related Outcomes of Oral Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Supplementation in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients. 2026;18(14):2251. Opened 2026-10-07.
  6. Mills KF, Yoshida S, Stein LR, et al. Long-Term Administration of Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Mitigates Age-Associated Physiological Decline in Mice. Cell Metab. 2016;24(6):795-806. Opened 2026-10-07.
  7. Liao B, Zhao Y, Wang D, Zhang X, Hao X, Hu M. Nicotinamide mononucleotide supplementation enhances aerobic capacity in amateur runners: a randomized, double-blind study. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2021;18(1):54. Opened 2026-10-01.
  8. Alegre GFS, Pastore GM. NAD+ Precursors Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN) and Nicotinamide Riboside (NR): Potential Dietary Contribution to Health. Curr Nutr Rep. 2023;12(3):445-464. Opened 2026-10-07.
  9. Christen S, Redeuil K, Goulet L, et al. The differential impact of three different NAD(+) boosters on circulatory NAD and microbial metabolism in humans. Nat Metab. 2026;8(1):62-73. Opened 2026-10-07.
  10. Sandalova E, Li H, Guan L, et al. Testing the amount of nicotinamide mononucleotide and urolithin A as compared to the label claim. Geroscience. 2024;46(5):5075-5083. Opened 2026-10-07.
  11. Yamane T, Imai M, Bamba T, Uchiyama S. Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) intake increases plasma NMN and insulin levels in healthy subjects. Clin Nutr ESPEN. 2023;56:83-86. Opened 2026-10-07.
  12. Pencina KM, Lavu S, Dos Santos M, et al. MIB-626, an Oral Formulation of a Microcrystalline Unique Polymorph of β-Nicotinamide Mononucleotide, Increases Circulating Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide and its Metabolome in Middle-Aged and Older Adults. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2023;78(1):90-96. Opened 2026-10-07.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

This page is information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation.