NMN and NR Trials in Women: Who Was Enrolled, What Was Measured

This is a company white paper from Mt. Angel Vitamins, not a peer-reviewed article. It asks which NMN and NR trials enrolled women and what each one measured. On ClinicalTrials.gov, as of 22 October 2026, 12 oral trials are restricted to women, with 1,016 participants registered. Two have a paper we could verify: a 10-week NMN trial in 25 postmenopausal women, and a 7-day open-label NR trial in 40 women. No trial we read compared men and women directly, so a sex difference in NMN or NR effects has not been shown.

If you're not a researcher

• The short answer: Women have been enrolled in NMN and NR research, but few trials were designed around them. On ClinicalTrials.gov, 12 oral NMN or NR trials are restricted to women as of 22 October 2026, with 1,016 participants registered.
• The best-evidenced women-only trial: In Yoshino and colleagues' 10-week trial, 25 postmenopausal women were split between 250 mg of NMN a day and placebo, and muscle insulin sensitivity rose only in the NMN group. The team chose women on purpose, because NMN had bigger effects in female mice than in male mice.
• What it did not show: Liver and fat-tissue insulin sensitivity did not change, and neither did body composition. Ten weeks says nothing about long-term use.
• No sex difference has been tested: No trial we read put men and women on the same dose and compared them, so an NMN or NR effect that differs by sex has not been shown.
• What to do with this: Treat the women-only findings as early and small. The full human record for each molecule is in the NMN monograph and the NR monograph.

How many NMN and NR trials have enrolled women?

We searched ClinicalTrials.gov on 22 October 2026 for interventional studies that name nicotinamide riboside (NR) or nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) as an intervention, with no status or start-date limits. The NR search returned 122 records. The NMN search returned 39, or 33 when the full name was used. Some records name both molecules.

The registry's own sex setting is the basis for the women count. Filtering for female-only eligibility returned 8 NR records and 6 NMN records. Two of those are not oral clinical trials: a topical cosmetic study of niacinamide riboside (NCT07774000) and an observational cosmetic study that matched the NMN search (NCT04685096). That leaves 12 oral trials restricted to women.

Together these 12 trials list 1,016 registered participants: 573 across five NMN trials and 443 across seven NR trials. Registered enrollment is the sponsor's figure, and for unfinished trials it is an estimate. The two records we opened in full (NCT03151239 and NCT03818802) show no posted results. Two of the 12 have a verified paper: the Yoshino NMN trial and the Holmes NR trial.

Which women-only trials have a verified paper?

Yoshino and colleagues, 2021: NMN in postmenopausal women with prediabetes

• Who: 25 postmenopausal women with prediabetes who were overweight or obese (BMI 25.3 to 39.1). Twelve were randomized to placebo and 13 to NMN [1].
• Design and length: Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, 10 weeks.
• Dose and form: 250 mg of NMN a day.
• What was measured: Muscle insulin sensitivity by hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp, insulin signaling (AKT and mTOR phosphorylation) in muscle, muscle gene expression, and blood cell NAD content [1].
• Result: Insulin-stimulated glucose disposal rose 25 percent after NMN (p below 0.01) and did not change after placebo. Evidence grade for this outcome: Moderate, one well-run randomized trial.
• What it did not measure or find: Liver and fat-tissue insulin sensitivity, body composition, blood pressure, fasting glucose and insulin, lipids, muscle mitochondrial respiration, and grip strength did not change. The trial had no male arm, so it cannot show a sex difference. The registry record (NCT03151239) lists 25 enrolled and a female-only sex setting.

Holmes and colleagues, 2026: NR plus pterostilbene across the menopause transition

• Who: 40 healthy women over 35, 32 with menopausal symptoms and 8 without [2].
• Design and length: Open-label pilot, single group, no placebo, 7 days.
• Dose and form: 250 mg of nicotinamide riboside plus 50 mg of pterostilbene a day, as the Basis product.
• What was measured: A symptom survey (bloating, hot flashes, poor sleep) at baseline and day 7, urinary estrone and estradiol with their ratio, and urinary NR breakdown products [2].
• Result: Symptom frequency and severity fell in the symptomatic group compared with their own baseline, and the estradiol-to-estrone ratio rose. The group without symptoms did not change. Evidence grade: Preliminary, a small open-label human trial.
• What it did not show: There was no control group, so the symptom drop cannot be separated from time or expectation. Seven days is short. Three of the seven authors list Elysium Health, which sells Basis. Because the product pairs NR with pterostilbene, this is not an NR-alone result. The registry record (NCT04841499) lists 40 enrolled.

Did any trial include both sexes, and what did it measure?

Four trials in the literature we read enrolled both sexes or men only. In the parts we read, reported results are pooled across sexes, and none reports a sex-by-treatment comparison.

The men-only NMN trial in older adults (Igarashi and colleagues, 2022 [7]) gave 250 mg a day for 6 or 12 weeks. It found higher blood NAD+ and nominal gains in gait speed and left-hand grip, and it enrolled no women, so it cannot speak to women.

Did any trial test a sex difference?

No. A sex difference needs men and women given the same dose and compared directly, with that comparison built into the analysis. The two women-only trials have no male arm. The male-only NMN trial has no female arm. The both-sex trials report pooled results in the parts we read. The question "Do NMN and NR work differently in women?" is open. It has not been answered in either direction.

Where does the women-only evidence stand?

Established: In one 10-week placebo-controlled trial of 25 postmenopausal women with prediabetes, 250 mg of NMN a day raised muscle insulin sensitivity. Evidence grade: Moderate, single trial.

Proposed, not tested: That NMN and NR effects differ by sex, and that the registered women-only trials in reproductive outcomes will show a sex-specific effect. These remain hypotheses.

What would settle it: A placebo-controlled trial that randomizes men and women to the same dose, names sex as a planned factor, and reports results by sex. Posted results for the registered women-only trials would also help, since most have no published paper we found.

What the doses mean for our product

Each two-capsule serving of our NMN + NR formula provides 500 mg of NMN and 200 mg of NR, which is twice the 250 mg of NMN a day in the Yoshino trial and one-fifth of the 1,000 mg of NR a day in the Martens trial. The formula also contains resveratrol, TMG, black pepper extract and zinc, and we found no trial in this set that tested those four alongside NMN and NR. The product is NMN + NR with Resveratrol and TMG, 60 capsules.

Counts and method

• Search date and source: 22 October 2026, ClinicalTrials.gov through the bio-research connector. Interventional studies, intervention field, no status or start-date limits.
• Sex: Taken from the registry's gender filter. We opened two of the 12 female-only records in full (NCT03151239 and NCT03818802), and both list a female-only sex setting. The other ten rest on the filter.
• Excluded: Two cosmetic records (NCT07774000, topical; NCT04685096, observational), because they fall outside the oral, interventional scope.
• Census comparison: The 20 October registry census counted 191 in-scope trials across NMN, NR and urolithin A, including 14 women-only. Our two-molecule, oral count is 12. We did not reconcile the gap.
• What the counts cannot show: The registry does not give women-enrolled counts for both-sex trials without posted results. Where a paper gives the split (Fukamizu: 17 women of 31), it is reported in the table above.
• Citations: Checked against PubMed records on 22 October 2026. Fukamizu's abstract labels its registration as ClinicalTrials.gov, but its Methods give UMIN000043084.
• Company authors: Fukamizu and colleagues (Mitsubishi Corporation Life Sciences), Conze and colleagues (ChromaDex consulting affiliation), Holmes and colleagues (Elysium Health), and Yi and colleagues (company affiliations listed).
• Dose context: For how the doses compare across the whole trial set, see NMN and NR doses against the trials. For trials that missed their main outcome, see the NAD precursor trials that found nothing.

Next reads

• NMN versus NR: how the two molecules differ and where the trial evidence sits for each.
• The NAD+ longevity guide: the parent pillar for the cluster.
• Best NMN and NR supplements: the buying guide, where label checks are covered.

Glossary

• NAD+: nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, a coenzyme that cells use to make energy and to run repair enzymes.
• NMN: nicotinamide mononucleotide, one step short of NAD+.
• NR: nicotinamide riboside, a form of vitamin B3 that the body converts to NMN.
• Pterostilbene: a plant compound related to resveratrol, paired with NR in the Basis product.
• Hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp: a test that holds blood sugar steady during an insulin infusion, to measure how well tissues take up glucose.
• Insulin sensitivity: how well cells respond to insulin. A higher value means less insulin is needed to clear glucose.
• Prediabetes: blood sugar above normal but below the diabetes range.
• Postmenopausal: more than 12 months since the last menstrual period.
• Open-label: participants and staff know which treatment is given, and there is no placebo arm.
• Crossover trial: each participant takes the treatment and the placebo, in sequence.
• Registered enrollment: the participant number a sponsor lists on ClinicalTrials.gov, often an estimate for unfinished trials.
• Sex setting: the registry field that says whether a trial admits women only, men only, or both.
• NCT number: the ClinicalTrials.gov identifier for a registered study.
• PMID: the PubMed identifier for a journal article.
• Company white paper: a document written by the company that sells the product. It is not peer-reviewed.

References

1. Yoshino M, Yoshino J, Kayser BD, et al. Nicotinamide mononucleotide increases muscle insulin sensitivity in prediabetic women. Science. 2021;372(6547):1224-1229. PMID 33888596. PubMed. DOI.
2. Holmes HE, Srivastava K, Scalici JM, et al. Nicotinamide riboside and pterostilbene reduces frequency and severity of undesirable symptoms of the menopause transition: an open-label, pilot clinical trial. Frontiers in Aging. 2026;7:1773667. PMID 42211736. PubMed. DOI.
3. Fukamizu Y, Uchida Y, Shigekawa A, et al. Safety evaluation of beta-nicotinamide mononucleotide oral administration in healthy adult men and women. Scientific Reports. 2022;12:14442. PMID 36002548. PubMed. DOI.
4. Yi L, Maier AB, Tao R, et al. The efficacy and safety of beta-nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) supplementation in healthy middle-aged adults: a randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, dose-dependent clinical trial. GeroScience. 2022;45(1):29-43. PMID 36482258. PubMed. DOI.
5. Martens CR, Denman BA, Mazzo MR, et al. Chronic nicotinamide riboside supplementation is well-tolerated and elevates NAD+ in healthy middle-aged and older adults. Nature Communications. 2018;9:1286. PMID 29599478. PubMed. DOI.
6. Conze D, Brenner C, Kruger CL. Safety and Metabolism of Long-term Administration of NIAGEN (Nicotinamide Riboside Chloride) in a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-controlled Clinical Trial of Healthy Overweight Adults. Scientific Reports. 2019;9:9772. PMID 31278280. PubMed. DOI.
7. Igarashi M, Nakagawa-Nagahama Y, Miura M, et al. Chronic nicotinamide mononucleotide supplementation elevates blood nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide levels and alters muscle function in healthy older men. npj Aging. 2022;8:5. PMID 35927255. PubMed. DOI.
8. ClinicalTrials.gov records, searched 22 October 2026: NCT03151239, NCT04841499, NCT03818802, NCT04823260.
9. Mt. Angel Vitamins. Every Registered NMN, NR and Urolithin A Trial: A 2026 Registry Census. Published 20 October 2026.

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