NMN Combinations: How Resveratrol and Ginsenosides Help NMN Increase NAD+ in Specific Organs

You can increase the potential effectiveness of your nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) supplementation by combining it with other active compounds like resveratrol and ginsenosides.

But how exactly does this work? What’s the optimal dose? What are the potential benefits?

Today, we’ll dive deep into a fascinating animal study published in 2022 by Long-Bo Bai and colleagues to answer all of these questions. [1]

But here’s the most important part if you’re pressed on time!

Compared to supplementation with NMN alone:

• Resveratrol and NMN combinations increase NAD+ levels by 1.59 times in the heart and by 1.72 times in skeletal muscle.
• NMN combinations with ginsenosides Rg3 & Rh2 increase NAD+ levels in the lungs by 1.97 times.

In practice, this could suggest that various NMN combinations may be used in the near future to fight off age-related issues in specific organs, preserving and improving their function as needed.

Let’s explore the details! But first, a quick memory refresh…

Increasing NAD+ in Specific Organs: What’s the Point?

Life as we know it is impossible without NAD+. In simple terms, it serves as an electron transporter in hundreds of chemical reactions in all cells of the body.

Here are just a few examples of the processes in your body that need NAD+:

• Glycolysis, meaning breaking down of glucose (the body’s primary carbohydrate) for energy
• Gluconeogenesis, the formation of glucose from non-carbohydrate sources, like proteins and fat
• Energy metabolism through the oxidation of carbs, fats, and protein
• Production of cholesterol, fatty acids, and steroids (including hormones like testosterone and estrogen)

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

So, you can probably imagine why the dramatic drop in NAD+ levels in aging living beings is a crucial matter. Restoring NAD+ has been shown to improve energy levels, overall health, and even slow down or reverse certain medical conditions.

But how can you increase NAD+ levels in specific organs?

After all, everyone ages differently. Some people have higher cardiovascular risk, others have stronger hearts but get respiratory issues more often. Can NAD+ therapy be organ-specific?

Looks like the answer is positive, thanks to NMN and various NMN combinations!

NAD+ Precursors, Delivered Just Where You Need Them

Supplementation with NAD+ directly is mostly ineffective due to the large size of the molecule.

Your cells can’t absorb it effectively. Instead, NAD+ has to be created within the cells, and that’s where NAD+ precursors enter the stage.

Nicotinamide mono nucleotide (NMN) is one of the most effective, well-studied, and safest of them. It has been shown to significantly improve NAD levels without side effects, but this result is largely non-specific. In other words, it increases your NAD+ levels everywhere, in all organs and tissues in your body.

But what if you want or need an extra NAD+ boost in a specific organ?

For example:

• Lifelong athletes could enjoy their favorite sports and activities longer by increasing NAD+ in the skeletal muscles
• People with a family history of heart disease could potentially decrease their risk by focusing on the NAD+ metabolism in their heart
• Former or current smokers could significantly support their lungs by supplying them with some extra NAD+ to promote local regeneration

Scientists are looking for the best combinations to achieve these goals, and now we finally have some really encouraging data. In a nutshell, the answer could be in using NMN combinations with other active compounds like resveratrol and ginsenosides.

For the Liver, Kidneys, and (Maybe) Brain: Take NMN Alone

Yep, it turns out that some things work best on their own.

Compared to the subjects who received NMN combinations with resveratrol or ginsenosides, the NMN-only group has been shown to have higher NAD+ levels in their brain, kidney, and liver cells.

However, this effect was statistically significant (p < .001) only for the liver and kidneys. For the brain, the effect was noticeable but failed to reach statistical significance in this study.

For the Heart and Skeletal Muscle: Choose NMN Combinations With Resveratrol

Compared to supplementation with NMN alone, NMN combinations with resveratrol improved NAD+ levels in the heart by 1.59 times. According to the authors of the study, this would lead to the following benefits:

• Blocking the symptoms of agonist-induced heart hypertrophy (growth)
• Protecting the heart cells from ischemia-reperfusion injury. This peculiar type of damage happens when some of the heart’s arteries get blocked by a blood clot or atherosclerosis and local cells start dying due to low blood supply (ischemia). Sometimes, when the blood flow is restored (reperfusion) in this part of the heart, the local inflammation and oxidation gets worse due to more oxygen being delivered. The fresh oxygen ”feeds the fire” of inflammation, resulting in extensive damage.

As for skeletal muscle, supplying it with enough NMN (and the resulting NAD+)  could potentially improve performance and maybe even prevent or slow down age-related muscle loss.

For the Lungs: NMN Combinations With Ginsenosides Are Optimal

NMN combinations with ginsenosides improve NAD+ levels in the lungs by 1.97 times compared to supplementation with NMN alone.

But since ginsenosides are a huge group of active compounds (steroid-like saponins) found in all plants from the ginseng species… Does it matter which specific ginsenosides you take?

Well,  this study confirmed the synergistic action of ginsenosides Rg3 and Rh2. The richest source of Rg3 and Rh2 is Korean red ginseng (scientifically known as Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer), a special variety of processed ginseng. It has been used in Far East Asia as a natural medicine for many centuries. Conversely, ordinary unprocessed ginseng is relatively low in these ginsenosides.

This is explained by the fact that Korean red ginseng is produced through a meticulous process of steaming and drying, during which many natural ginsenosides like Rb1 and Rc are converted into Rg3. [2]

All of the above leads us to the main problem: true, high-quality, genuine Korean red ginseng is sort of rare and can get quite expensive. It’s also extremely hard to standardize in terms of ginsenoside content, as it can get very different from one batch to another, so keep that in mind.

As for the potential health benefits of this combination, it could be extremely useful for people living in heavily polluted areas, as well as current or former smokers to combat the premature aging of lung tissue caused by tobacco smoke or environmental pollution.