Niagen Bioscience study links NAD+ supplement to slower muscle aging markers

Longevity brand Niagen Bioscience spotlights new findings from one of the first human studies suggesting that restoring nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) levels through supplementation can slow epigenetic aging in skeletal muscle following high-intensity exercise. However, researchers caution that accelerated markers of DNA aging right after physical activity could be an indicator of temporary cellular stress rather than signals of actual aging.

Previous research has documented the compound as an essential regulator of DNA repair, metabolism, and overall cell health. Today, the company highlights that growingly popular GLP-1 medications for rapid weight loss, alongside consumers’ attention to healthspan, bring a heightened focus on preserving lean muscle.

Nutrition Insight speaks to Dr. Andrew Shao, SVP of Global Regulatory & Scientific Affairs at Niagen Bioscience, about the significance of the findings and how researchers are increasingly looking for better biomarkers to measure muscle health beyond traditional metrics like size and strength. 

“Biological age measurements, health trackers, and other personalized health tools have become increasingly popular as more people invest in living longer, healthier lives,” says Shao. 

“They can help people understand how factors such as nutrition, different types of exercise, sleep, and supplementation affect different aspects of their health, while also capturing changes that traditional measures may miss.”

Telling time on muscle clocks

Beyond physical performance, longevity scientists are increasingly focused on studying long-term metabolic health, mobility, and resilience. They point to a new emerging metric: muscle age. And they are not only interested in how to measure it, but also how to influence it.

In the multi-cohort, exploratory paper based on secondary data, published in Aging Cell, researchers evaluated the rate of muscle age acceleration through seven established epigenetic clocks, across muscle and blood samples from three independent clinical studies. 

Five months of NR supplementation at 1,000 mg per day slowed several markers of epigenetic aging in the blood and muscle tissue of 30 adults from a Finnish twin cohort.They examined the impact of five-month supplementation with nicotinamide riboside (NR) — a vitamin B3 precursor to NAD+ — and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on epigenetic muscle age acceleration.

These protocols were previously proposed to slow aging-related mitochondrial decline, but their effects on skeletal muscle epigenetic aging were not fully explored.

“Muscle-specific epigenetic clocks are becoming an increasingly useful way to assess whether a healthy aging intervention ingredient affects muscle biology beyond outward measures such as strength or muscle mass,” Shao tells us.

Cellular strain versus true aging

Researchers found that five months of NR supplementation at 1,000 mg per day slowed several markers of epigenetic aging in the blood and muscle tissue of 30 adults from a Finnish twin cohort. The analysis did not test whether those changes were driven by higher NAD+ levels, and the authors state that it remains unclear.

“In the Heikkinen et al. study, the muscle epigenetic age test (MEAT) clock showed that adults who supplemented with Niagen for five months experienced an approximately 2.5-year reduction in muscle biological age,” details Shao.

Meanwhile, HIIT exercise was linked to a temporary increase in muscle age acceleration on one key clock that measures DNA methylation, DunedinPACE, which the researchers note likely reflects short-term cellular stress from exercise instead of true aging.

With this in mind, they caution that evidence of accelerated epigenetic age following high-intensity exercise should not be immediately interpreted as faster overall aging. 

The researchers caution that accelerated epigenetic aging following high-intensity exercise could signal temporary cellular strain instead of faster overall aging.These markers can be signs of temporary cellular strain, acute tissue remodeling, inflammation, or shifts in cellular turnover caused by exercise.

Underlying biology of aging

As these tools continue to evolve, Shao believes they will offer researchers clearer pathways to understanding not just whether an intervention works, but whether it is effectively influencing the underlying biology of aging.

“I think these findings reflect where the healthy aging field is headed,” he comments. “It is no longer enough to rely on a broad claim or a single laboratory result.”

“Companies need well-designed human clinical studies, validated biomarkers, functional outcomes, and safety data. Just as importantly, they need better ways to measure whether an intervention is actually influencing the biology of aging, not simply short-term markers,” he notes.

“That’s been Niagen’s approach from the beginning, with more than 45 human clinical studies, 200 peer-reviewed publications, and 300 scientific collaborations. This latest study adds another piece to the growing body of evidence showing that raising NAD+ may support muscle health at both the mitochondrial and epigenetic levels.”

Shao highlights that the next step is to better understand how increasing NAD+ with Niagen affects mitochondrial health, epigenetic aging, muscle strength, and physical function over a longer period of time.

“We’re also interested in how Niagen works alongside proven muscle-health strategies like resistance training and whether the combination provides complementary benefits.”

Previous research supports that daily supplementation with Niagen Bioscience’s patented NR ingredient, Niagen NR, for ten weeks boosts positive recovery outcomes among individuals with long COVID. The condition causes fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, and disturbed sleep.

Earlier this year, Niagen Bioscience’s direct-to-consumer website partnered with payment platform Truemed to offer eligible US-based customers the option to purchase its NAD+ booster supplement, Tru Niagen, for a lower cost using pre-tax healthcare dollars.