There’s been a lot of discussion lately (particularly on subreddits NR and NMN) comparing the liposomal version of Nicotinamide Riboside (NR) with regular Nicotinamide Riboside (NR). To get some clarity on the issue, we reached out to the Niagen team for their perspective. Here’s what they said:

“Liposomes are liquid vesicles that contain active ingredients and can offer better absorption of the active to our bodies.

Typically, this is a technique used for active ingredients that are poorly absorbed into the body.

However, because liposomes have an aqueous core, NAD+ precursors, like NR, will not remain stable and will degrade rapidly (within weeks). 

While most liposomal products use liquid vesicles, some liposomal products claim better absorption with dried liposomes.

The caveat to this is, if the liposomes are dried, they collapse and shrink, no longer providing a protective shell for the active ingredient.

Recently, upon analytical testing, we found a soft gel liposomal NR product did not contain any NR.

Similar results were found when analyzing a dried liposomal NR product suggesting liposomal technology may not be optimal as a delivery system for NR. 

Furthermore, Tru Niagen® PRO products are NSF Certified for Sport® (CFS), which ensures the product contains what is printed on the label, is free of more than 270 athletic banned substances, and has no unsafe levels of contaminants. It also ensures the product must be manufactured in a facility that is good manufacturing practices (GMP) certified and audited by NSF International two times per year for quality and safety. Tru Niagen® PRO meets all of these standards. 

Lastly, to date, there are no published human studies investigating the safety or benefits of liposomal NR, whereas Niagen®, the key active ingredient in Tru Niagen® PRO, has more than 20 published, peer-reviewed studies and more than 40 registered ongoing, or completed clinical trials”

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