All things NMN: Catch up on the latest R&D, trends, and market expansion

WATCH: NMN, bone growth chews, social commerce fuelling EZZ’s growth in China​

Australian life science company EZZ is seeing strong growth in China with its nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) and bone growth supplements, supported by the use of social commerce platforms Kuaishou and Pinduoduo.

In the first half of FY24, revenue from its health supplements was up 50 per cent to AUD$19.1m (US$12.4m), representing 88 per cent of the company’s total revenue.

Its strong performance in China could be attributed to two of its hero products, namely NMN and Bone Growth Chews, as well as leveraging on social and e-commerce platforms, Glenn Cross, chairman at EZZ told NutraIngredients-Asia​.​

Coffee fix? UDA targets China growth for relaunched longevity brew designed to help reverse ageing​​ ​

A “longevity” coffee product formulated with NMN, quercetin, ashwagandha, alpha-ketoglutarate and more is on a mission to crack the lucrative China market.

The brainchild of tech entrepreneur Kevin Yang and biomedical scientist Dr Avi Roy, the product is launched under the brand UDA – also the short form for UnDoAge.

Instead of designing a supplement, the company believes that it makes more sense to incorporate ingredients with anti-ageing benefits into coffee, since it is something many reach out to first thing in the morning.

NAD+ tests and more: Swiss start-up advocates for supplementation and biomarker testing across Asia​​

Swiss start-up xLongevity is advocating the need to test the efficacy of nutrient supplementation and has started doing so in Asia, beginning with a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) test currently offered in India.

As its name suggests, the company specialises in longevity health and has so far developed NMN, glutathione supplements to help supporting declining levels as one ages.

However, founder and CEO Dr Pierre-Edouard Sottas pointed out that it would be more prudent to complement nutrient supplementation with diagnostics and coaching to maximise the benefits, which is why the company has launched a NAD+ test and is planning to do more.

Personalised NMN supplementation could provide better health benefits for middle-aged and older adults​ 

Personalised NMN supplementation could lead to better health functions among middle-aged and older adults, said new clinical findings.

The 60-day clinical trial looked at the effects of placebo and supplementation of NMN at 300mg, 600mg, and 900mg on the effects of healthy middle-aged adults.

The researchers found that NMN supplementation could improve blood NAD+ concentration but observed that individual responses to the effects of NMN had varied greatly.

Beyond NMN: New longevity supplement brand makes its debut in Singapore​

Elivity, a new longevity supplement brand, has made its debut in Singapore and it aims to move Asia’s understanding of the category beyond the use of NMN.

Founded by husband-and-wife duo Hanno Hornbanger and Gerhild Hornbanger, Elivity has so far developed three SKUs for supporting healthy longevity and another two oral sprays for sleep and energy needs.

Aside from NMN, they believe that there is a need to tap on other ingredients such as spermidine and fisetin – although they are lesser known – so as to target the 12 Hallmarks of Ageing.

Cough syrup Pei Pa Koa maker enters healthy ageing space with NMN product​  

Nin Jiom, the Hong Kong-based company known for its cough syrup product Pei Pa Koa, is venturing into the healthy ageing supplement space with a NMN product that will be first launched in Singapore in Q2.

The launch will be done via its new business subsidiary known as NJHealth.

The venture into the health supplement business is intended to diversify the company’s business while remaining rooted to its expertise in herbal and natural-based products, according to Gustav Chan, director and general manager, Nin Jiom Medicine Manufacturing HK Ltd.

Sarcopenic patients have low levels of NAD+ precursor trigonelline – Nestle-funded study​

Trigonelline, an alkaloid found in plants and animals, is found to be closely linked to muscle health, with low serum levels reported in seniors suffering from sarcopenia, new findings from a Nestle-funded study have shown.

Published in Nature Metabolism, the research also found that trigonelline is a precursor of NAD+.

“Our targeted metabolomic profiling of human sarcopenia revealed trigonelline as a new metabolite associated with muscle function, mitochondrial metabolism and NAD+,”​ said the researchers.

NMN quality in question: Singapore researchers call for industry effort in meeting label claims​

The testing of 18 commercially available NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide) supplements sold in Singapore found that most products did not meet label claims, and researchers have called for industry-wide effort in resolving the issue.

Conducted by researchers from the medical school and The Centre of Innovation for Complementary Health Product at Temasek Polytechnic, the test examined the amount and purity of NMN that was available in 18 NMN supplements sold in Singapore.

Three of the products tested were found to contain no NMN, six had NMN that were 20 to 100 per cent lower than what was claimed, another six had NMN between zero to 20 per cent lower than the amount labelled.