Researchers have published findings suggesting that taking nicotinamide riboside (NR) may help slow markers of muscle aging, though the effect appears to differ from the stress caused by high-intensity exercise. The study, led by Niagen Bioscience, examined whether restoring NAD+ levels through supplementation could alter epigenetic aging in skeletal muscle after physical activity. Previous research has already documented the compound as an essential regulator of DNA repair, metabolism, and overall cell health, but this work focuses specifically on muscle tissue.
Biological age measurements and health trackers are becoming increasingly popular as more people invest in living longer, healthier lives. These tools 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. Dr. Andrew Shao, SVP of Global Regulatory & Scientific Affairs at Niagen Bioscience, noted that 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.
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Researchers evaluated the rate of muscle age acceleration through seven established epigenetic clocks across muscle and blood samples from three independent clinical studies. The analysis did not test whether those changes were driven by higher NAD+ levels, and the authors state that it remains unclear. 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. 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.
Meanwhile, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) was linked to a temporary increase in muscle age acceleration on one key clock that measures DNA methylation, DunedinPACE. The researchers note that this likely reflects short-term cellular stress from exercise instead of true aging. These markers can be signs of temporary cellular strain, acute tissue remodeling, inflammation, or shifts in cellular turnover caused by exercise.
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. This distinction is vital for interpreting how the body responds to physical stress and how different interventions interact with those responses.
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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. This requires more than broad claims or single laboratory results. Companies need well-designed human clinical studies, validated biomarkers, functional outcomes, and safety data to prove an ingredient works. Shao said Niagen has conducted more than 45 human clinical studies, 200 peer-reviewed publications, and 300 scientific collaborations to support its approach. 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.
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.
