Vitamin B3 tagged posts

Researchers have analyzed samples of the asteroid Ryugu collected by the Japanese Space Agency’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft and found uracil, one of the informational units that make up RNA, the molecules that contain the instructions for how to build and operate living organisms. Nicotinic acid, also known as Vitamin B3 or niacin, which is an important cofactor for metabolism in living organisms, was also detected in the same samples.

This discovery by an international team, led by Associate Professor Yasuhiro Oba at Hokkaido University, adds to the evidence that important building blocks for life are created in space and could have b...

Nicotinamide Riboside (NR)

Nicotinamide riboside rejuvenates stem cells, allowing better regeneration processes in aged mice. As mice, like all mammals, age, the regenerative capacity of certain organs (eg liver and kidneys) and muscles (including the heart) diminishes. Their ability to repair them following an injury is also affected. This leads to many of the disorders typical of aging.

Hongbo Zhang wanted to understand how the regeneration process deteriorated with age. To do so, he teamed up with colleagues from ETH Zurich, the Uni of Zurich and universities in Canada and Brazil. Through several markers, he was able to identify the molecular chain that regulates how mitochondria function and how they change with age...

VitB3 3D model

It will allow for novel drug development for obesity, diabetes type II and related metabolic diseases. A small molecule N1-methylnicotinamide prevents metabolic complications caused by a high-fat diet.

“Our laboratory investigates the metabolic effects of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide [NAD+], a metabolite derived from a form of vitamin B3 called nicotinamide,” explained assistant Prof Pavlos Pissios. NAD+ is central to intermediary metabolism, the intracellular process by which food is converted into cellular components in the body.

“Like reservatrol, which is found in red wine, NAD+ boosts the effects of the protein sirtuin 1 [Sirt1], which is known to provide many health benefits,” said Pissios...