Key points
- Nicotinamide riboside (NR) is a compound related to vitamin B3, built from nicotinamide and ribose, a sugar.
- Inside cells, NR can be converted into NMN and then into NAD+, which is why NR is described as an NAD+ precursor.
- On an ingredient list it may appear as nicotinamide riboside, nicotinamide riboside chloride or NR.
- NR, NMN and NAD+ are different molecules. Research on one does not transfer to another, and we do not rank them.
What is nicotinamide riboside? Nicotinamide riboside, usually shortened to NR, is a compound related to vitamin B3. It is built from nicotinamide, one form of vitamin B3, and ribose, a sugar. Cells can use NR as a starting point for making NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide), which is why it is called an NAD+ precursor. This guide explains what that means, how the name is written and what research has and has not established.
What nicotinamide riboside is
NR is a small molecule made of two parts: nicotinamide, which is one of the forms of vitamin B3, joined to ribose, a sugar. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements groups it with niacin's related derivatives.
NR has been found in milk. A review in Cell Metabolism notes that studies have documented it at micromolar concentrations, which are very low, in human and cow milk.
How NR relates to NAD+
Inside cells, enzymes called NR kinases convert NR into NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide). Another group of enzymes then acts on NMN to make NAD+. The review in Cell Metabolism sets out this route.
What "precursor" means
A precursor is a molecule that comes earlier in a chain of reactions that ends in another molecule. NR is a precursor of NAD+ in that sense, and so is NMN. The word describes a route inside a cell. It says nothing about what happens when a person takes the precursor, and it is not evidence that taking it changes anything.
Nicotinamide riboside chloride: the longer name
Some ingredient lists use the longer name nicotinamide riboside chloride. It is the same compound with one addition. PubChem, the chemistry database of the US National Library of Medicine, records nicotinamide riboside as a molecule that carries a positive charge, and nicotinamide riboside chloride as that molecule paired one to one with chloride. "Chloride" names the salt form. It does not name a different compound.
NR, NMN and NAD+ are not interchangeable
NAD+, NMN and NR are different molecules with different names. They sit next to each other on one route inside cells, NR to NMN to NAD+, but a shared route does not make them the same thing. Each has its own chemistry and its own body of research, and research on one does not transfer to another.
The product we sell contains NAD+. We do not rank one against another. For NAD+ itself and the two states it moves between, see NAD+ vs NADH: one molecule, two states.
What research has and has not established
Research on NR falls into three broad types: studies in cells, studies in animals and studies in people. The review in Cell Metabolism described the results available at the time as preclinical, meaning they came from cell and animal studies, and noted that clinical trials in people were under way.
A study can measure many things, such as the amount of a substance in a blood sample. A change in a measured substance is a finding about that substance. It is not, on its own, evidence of a benefit to a person, and we do not present it as one.
What has not been established is just as important. A result in a cell or an animal is not a result in a person, and a result for NR is not a result for NMN or NAD+.
Reading the ingredient name on a label
Names in this family look alike, so read them slowly:
- Nicotinamide riboside, nicotinamide riboside chloride or NR: the compound this guide is about.
- Nicotinamide or niacinamide: a form of vitamin B3, not NR.
- Nicotinamide mononucleotide, NMN or β-NMN: the next molecule on the route, not NR.
- Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, NAD+ or NADH: the end of the route, in its two states.
Check which of these a label actually names. Our guide to vitamin B3 foods and NAD+ explains the vitamin B3 names in more detail, and our Science page covers NAD+ itself. If you have any question about whether a food supplement is suitable for you, ask a pharmacist, GP or other qualified professional first.
Role is not the same as result. What a molecule does inside a cell is biology. What a supplement does for the person taking it is a separate question, and it needs its own evidence. We explain the first so you know what the word on the label means. We make no claim about the second.
Frequently asked questions
Is nicotinamide riboside the same as niacinamide?
No. Niacinamide is another name for nicotinamide, a form of vitamin B3. Nicotinamide riboside is nicotinamide joined to ribose, a sugar, which makes it a different compound.
Is nicotinamide riboside the same as NMN?
No. NMN, nicotinamide mononucleotide, is the next molecule on the route from NR to NAD+. They are different molecules, and research on one does not transfer to the other.
What is nicotinamide riboside chloride?
It is nicotinamide riboside in its chloride salt form: the NR molecule paired with chloride. The longer name and the shorter name refer to the same compound.
Sources
- Cell Press, Cell Metabolism: NAD+ Intermediates: The Biology and Therapeutic Potential of NMN and NR
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Niacin: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals
- PubChem (US National Library of Medicine): Nicotinamide Riboside
- PubChem (US National Library of Medicine): nicotinamide riboside chloride (compound record 90480033)
