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Benefit

Exercise Performance

PGC-1α-SIRT1 axis and NAD+ kinetics with training.

Emerging human evidence

Acute exercise transiently increases muscle NAD+ turnover and activates the PGC-1α-SIRT1 axis that drives mitochondrial biogenesis. Nicotinamide riboside elevates muscle NAD+ in aged adults and shifts the mitochondrial transcriptome, but human trials in trained or younger cohorts have not shown consistent improvements in VO2max, power output, or time-to-exhaustion. The translational gap between NAD+ rescue in aged tissue and ergogenic effects in healthy athletes remains open.

Key studies

  1. Cell Metabolism · 2012 · PMID 22682224

    The NAD+ precursor nicotinamide riboside enhances oxidative metabolism and protects against high-fat diet-induced obesity

    Cantó C, et al.

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  2. Cell Reports · 2019 · PMID 31412242

    Nicotinamide riboside augments the aged human skeletal muscle NAD+ metabolome

    Elhassan YS, et al.

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  3. Endocrine Journal · 2020 · PMID 31685720

    Effect of oral administration of nicotinamide mononucleotide on clinical parameters and nicotinamide metabolite levels in healthy Japanese men

    Irie J, et al.

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Editorial note

NADFaq grades evidence on a 4-tier scale based on human trial quality, sample size, reproducibility, and mechanistic plausibility. This is a conservative framework — many published benefits of NAD+ precursors rest on preclinical (rodent or cell) work that has not yet translated to humans.

How we grade evidence