Is There Human Evidence for Liposomal or IV NAD+?
No human trial of liposomal NAD+ turned up in our PubMed search. IV NAD+ has one small pilot that measured blood levels, one 2026 retrospective tolerability study, and one case report, but we found no randomized trial of a clinical outcome. Oral NR and NMN have several small human trials showing higher blood NAD+. Those trials do not prove a benefit you would feel.
The short answer No human study of liposomal NAD+ turned up in our PubMed search, so nothing in people shows that the liposome raises NAD+ in the blood. IV NAD+ has one small human pilot on blood levels, one 2026 retrospective tolerability study, and one case report. The main safety signal was symptoms during the infusion. Oral NR and NMN raise blood NAD+ in small human trials. Their effect on function is mixed. Before you pay for any NAD+ product, ask for the human study on that exact product. If none exists, you are buying a design claim.
Liposomal and IV NAD+ are sold on one promise: that a better route gets more NAD+ into the body. The human data on both routes are small, and the one human infusion study produced a result its authors called surprising. For the molecule itself, start with our NAD+ guide.
Why does the route matter?
Capsules, the pitch goes, lose the molecule in the gut, and a liposome or a drip gets it past that step. Mouse work gives the idea some support. In mice, intravenous NR and NMN reached tissues intact, while the same molecules taken by mouth were converted to nicotinamide in the liver (Liu et al. 2018). That result is about the precursors, and it comes from animals.
Human data for IV NAD+ point somewhere else. In the one controlled human pilot we found, a six-hour infusion of 750 mg NAD+ left plasma levels flat for the first two hours and rose only by the end. The authors conclude that at that rate NAD+ was "rapidly and completely removed from the plasma for at least the first 2 h" (Grant et al. 2019).
Mice show where a molecule goes. People show what happens to it in the blood, and for IV NAD+ that is the number that matters.
What do sellers claim, and what do they cite?
We read one liposomal NAD+ product on its brand's own product page on 2026-10-19: NAD+ Complete (Liposomal) from Renue By Science, listed at $84.95 USD. The brand's ingredient list gives 310 mg of NMN, 160 mg of NAD+, 100 mg of NR and 70 mg of trigonelline. It says the liposomal format gives a slower, more sustained release. The page text does not state a serving size or a capsule count, so this article gives no cost per day. The page cites no study for the formula. Its footer says, "These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration." The brand says each batch is tested in U.S. laboratories and that it publishes a certificate of analysis by batch number. This article did not read those certificates.
We did not find a human study of liposomal NAD+, NR or NMN in PubMed. The brand's site links to a post titled "Human Study: Liposomal NMN More Effective." We did not read that post. This section covers one product, not the whole market.
What human data exist for IV NAD+?
Four reports cover IV NAD+ or a close relative in people. The table gives the design, the result, and the grade for each outcome.
| Study | Who, and how many | Dose and route | What was measured, and what happened | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant et al. 2019. Randomized pilot | 11 healthy men aged 30 to 55: 8 got NAD+, 3 got saline | 750 mg over 6 hours, about 3 micromoles per minute | Plasma and urine NAD+ for 8 hours. Plasma NAD+ stayed flat for 2 hours, then rose 398% above baseline by hour 6. No adverse events were observed during the infusion. Three liver enzymes fell significantly by hour 8; the authors say none of the changes were clinically significant. | Preliminary (blood levels) |
| Reyna et al. 2026. Retrospective tolerability study | Clients at a commercial clinic; group sizes are not in the abstract | 500 mg a day for four days, as IV NAD+ or IV NR | Thirty-day follow-up. IV NAD+ brought moderate to severe GI symptoms, a faster heart rate and chest pressure during infusions. IV NR brought mild tingling and cramping. Infusion times averaged 97 minutes for NAD+ with moderate to severe symptoms, against 37 minutes for NR. | Preliminary (tolerability) |
| Itani et al. 2026. Case report | One woman with rheumatoid arthritis, given IV NAD+ for aesthetic and anti-aging reasons | 250 mg in 500 mL saline over about an hour, every two weeks | She reported pain relief after each infusion, and a nine-month ultrasound showed no synovitis. No infusion-related adverse events were reported. The authors say the design cannot establish cause. | Insufficient (single case) |
| Birkmayer et al. 1993. Open-label trial of NADH | 885 people with Parkinson's disease; about half given IV | NADH, the reduced form, by IV or capsule | The authors reported benefit in about 80% of patients, with oral and IV forms comparable. NADH is not NAD+, and the trial was open-label. | Not graded (not NAD+) |
Two authors of the 2019 pilot disclosed ties to an NAD+ company, and one of them is also medical director of a wellness center that uses IV NAD as a clinical therapy. The authors call the 750 mg dose a common dosing regimen in clinics.
A 2026 systematic review of 113 eligible studies, 33 of them in humans, found no trial of IV or intramuscular NAD+ itself with an anti-aging or wellness outcome. It treated the one IV pharmacokinetic pilot as context only (Gallagher and Emmanuel 2026). A 2026 narrative review calls the human IV evidence sparse, made up of small uncontrolled studies, observational work and case reports (Alangari et al. 2026). Grade for clinical outcomes from IV NAD+: Insufficient.
What about oral NAD+ itself?
We found no human trial of oral NAD+ itself. Our search on 2026-10-19 looked for NAD+ papers with oral, sublingual or liposomal terms, limited to trial, case report and pilot publication types, with precursor terms excluded. The only hit was an unrelated 1978 lymphoma trial. If a seller says oral NAD+ raises blood levels, ask for the trial. We could not find one.
Precursors have the human data. In a human pharmacokinetic study, single oral doses of 100, 300 and 1,000 mg of NR raised blood NAD metabolites in a dose-dependent way. The study also reports a pilot in one person, whose blood NAD rose as much as 2.7-fold after a single dose. Two of its authors listed a commercial company as an affiliation (Trammell et al. 2016).
In a randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial with two six-week periods, 1,000 mg of NR a day raised NAD+ in immune cells by about 60% compared with placebo in healthy adults aged 55 to 79 (Martens et al. 2018). For NMN, 250 mg a day for 6 or 12 weeks raised whole-blood NAD+ in older men (Igarashi et al. 2022). In a 60-day trial, 300, 600 or 900 mg a day raised blood NAD+ at every dose, with the highest levels at 600 and 900 mg (Yi et al. 2023). A four-week safety trial of 1,250 mg a day in 31 adults found no changes beyond normal variation (Fukamizu et al. 2022). Several NMN trial authors list company affiliations.
Grade for a blood NAD+ rise from oral NR or NMN: Moderate, since randomized trials agree on direction, though all are small. Grade for function: Insufficient, because the systematic review finds the functional results mixed and often null (Gallagher and Emmanuel 2026). For the precursors themselves, see the NMN monograph and our NMN versus NR comparison.
How does NAD+ behave differently from NR and NMN?
The Grant authors argue that NAD+ outside cells is broken down quickly. NAD+ carries a negative charge and does not cross cell membranes passively. Enzymes on cell surfaces, including CD38 and CD157, can break it down into nicotinamide and other products. The breakdown products they measured fit that pattern (Grant et al. 2019).
The same paper notes that the cell-surface protein CD73 converts NMN into NR, which easily crosses cell membranes for potential resynthesis to NAD+. For background, see the explainer on what NAD+ does in cells. That is a mechanism, not a measured benefit in people.
Which option fits your situation?
| Your situation | What the human data support | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Considering liposomal NAD+ | No human study of the liposomal form found. The delivery claim is untested in people | Ask for blood data on the exact product, with dose and sampling times |
| Considering an IV NAD+ infusion | One small blood-level pilot, one tolerability study with infusion-day symptoms, and one case report | Ask for the dose in milligrams, the minutes per infusion, and the lab monitoring |
| Want an oral option with human blood data | NR and NMN raise blood NAD+ in small trials. Function results are mixed | Check the label dose against trial doses and the price per day. See the best NMN and NR supplements for 2026 |
What should you do, and what should you ask first?
For oral precursors, follow the label, and compare each ingredient's amount with the amounts the trials used. The multi-week trials above (Martens, Igarashi and Yi) ran six weeks or longer, so a few days of use tells you little about a product.
For IV NAD+, ask these before you pay:
- How many milligrams of NAD+ go into each infusion, and over how many minutes? The 2019 pilot used 750 mg over six hours.
- Which labs are checked before and after? The 2026 study tracked liver enzymes, kidney markers, inflammation and thyroid.
- Who prescribes the infusion, and who monitors it during and after?
- Has anyone tested this exact product in people? Ask for the study by name.
- What is the total cost of the course you are being sold?
For liposomal NAD+, ask for blood data on the exact product, with the dose, the sample size and the sampling times. A product page is not a study.
When should you stop or ask someone?
Talk to a clinician before any NAD+ infusion or new supplement if you take medicines, are pregnant or nursing, or have a heart, liver or kidney problem. The 2019 pilot excluded people taking lipid-lowering or anti-inflammatory drugs, and people with a history of liver or renal failure. Those are the screens to ask about.
During an infusion, tell the staff at once if you get chest pressure, a faster heart rate, nausea, cramping or flushing. Those are the symptoms the 2026 tolerability study and the 2026 narrative review describe. For chest pain, trouble breathing or fainting, get emergency medical help, and do not wait for the infusion to finish.
What would change this picture?
Three kinds of evidence would change it. The first is a placebo-controlled IV NAD+ trial with a clinical endpoint and follow-up longer than a day. The second is a human trial of a liposomal NAD+ product, compared with a plain capsule of the same ingredients, with blood sampled over several hours and again at 30 days. The third is an independent replication of the 2019 pilot, since two of its authors disclosed ties to an NAD+ company.
The 2026 systematic review asks for the same kind of study: "Larger, well-designed randomized trials with longer follow-up and prespecified clinically meaningful endpoints are needed, particularly for parenteral approaches" (Gallagher and Emmanuel 2026). Until one of those exists, the grades above stay where they are.
Where does Mt. Angel Vitamins fit?
Our product in this category is an oral precursor option, not an IV or liposomal NAD+ product. NMN + NR with Resveratrol and TMG has 500 mg of NMN and 200 mg of NR in each two-capsule serving, plus resveratrol, TMG, Bioperine and zinc. The label directs one serving a day, and a 60-capsule bottle is a 30-day supply. At $59.99, that is $2.00 a day.
The NMN amount falls within the range the human trials above used. The NR amount, 200 mg, is one-fifth of the 1,000 mg a day in the Martens trial, and that gap is worth knowing before you buy. The formula is made and tested in our UL-certified cGMP facility in Mt. Angel, Oregon, and each lot has a certificate of analysis.
NMN + NR with Resveratrol and TMG
Mt. Angel Vitamins does not sell NAD+ injections or liposomal NAD+.
†These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Related reading
- NAD+ and Cellular Energy: The Complete Guide: the parent guide to the molecule and its precursors.
- NMN, dose by dose: the NMN monograph and its human trials.
- Best NMN + NR Supplements in the US (2026 Buyer's Guide): the buying guide for oral options.
- NR (Nicotinamide Riboside)
- NMN vs NR: Which NAD+ Precursor Should You Take?
The Bottom Line
Pay for evidence, not for the delivery format. For liposomal NAD+, we found no human study of the form, so the liposome is a claim until a trial says otherwise. For IV NAD+, the human data are one small blood-level pilot, a tolerability study and a case report. For oral precursors, human trials used 100 to 1,000 mg of NR and 250 to 1,250 mg of NMN, and blood levels rose. Check the label dose against those ranges and the price per day, and talk to a clinician before any infusion.
Related Products
NMN + NR with Resveratrol and TMG – NAD+ & Cellular Energy Support | 60 Capsules
$59.99
FAQ
Is liposomal NAD+ absorbed better than regular NAD+?
No human study we could find tests that. Our PubMed search on 2026-10-19 found no human trial of liposomal NAD+, NR or NMN. The one liposomal listing we checked says its delivery is designed to protect the ingredients during digestion, and it cites no study. That is a design claim. Ask for blood data on the exact product, with the dose and sampling times, before you pay. A product page is not a study.
Does NAD+ taken by mouth raise blood NAD+?
We found no human trial of oral NAD+ itself. Human trials of oral NR and NMN do raise blood NAD+ (Martens et al. 2018; Igarashi et al. 2022; Yi et al. 2023). In mice, oral NR and NMN were metabolized to nicotinamide in the liver (Liu et al. 2018). The human oral data we found are for the precursors, not for NAD+ itself.
How much NAD+ goes into an IV infusion?
The studies used different amounts, so ask the clinic for the number. The one controlled human pilot used 750 mg over six hours, which its authors called a common dosing regimen in clinics (Grant et al. 2019). A 2026 tolerability study gave 500 mg a day for four days, comparing IV NAD+ with IV NR (Reyna et al. 2026). Get the milligram dose and the minutes per infusion in writing before you agree to anything.
Is IV NAD+ safe?
The evidence is small, so no firm answer exists. In the 2026 tolerability study, people given IV NAD+ reported moderate to severe GI symptoms, a faster heart rate and chest pressure during infusions. In the 2019 pilot, no adverse events were observed during a six-hour infusion, in either the NAD+ or the saline group. A 2026 narrative review says long-term safety data are lacking (Alangari et al. 2026).
Why take NR or NMN instead of NAD+?
NR and NMN are smaller molecules, and cells can convert them into NAD+ through known pathways. In the one human infusion pilot, plasma NAD+ was cleared quickly. Blood NAD+ rises in human trials of NR and NMN. Their functional results are mixed and often null, according to a 2026 systematic review (Gallagher and Emmanuel 2026). That is the case for precursors, and it has a limit.
Has IV NAD+ been shown to improve a health outcome?
Not in a controlled human trial that we found. A 2026 systematic review found no trial of IV or intramuscular NAD+ with an anti-aging or wellness outcome. The 2019 pilot measured blood levels, not outcomes. The one case report describes symptom changes in a single person, and its authors say the design cannot establish cause, so it cannot show how common any effect is.