Drug Database - NADH

Other Name: Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide

NADH is the abbreviation used for Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide, one of the most important coenzymes in the human brain and body.

A coenzyme is the active, or working form of a vitamin. NADH is the reduced (electron- energy rich) coenzyme form of vitamin B3, while NAD is the oxidized (burned) coenzyme form of B3.

NAD and NADH are converted into each other in numerous different metabolic activities. In some metabolic reactions it is NAD which is the needed catalyst, with NADH a useful by-product, in other reactions the situation is reversed.

NAD and NADH also serve to activate various enzymes, NAD for example, activates alcohol dehydrogenase and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase that are the two enzymes needed to detoxify the alcohol we drink into carbon dioxide and water.

NADH is the first of five enzyme complexes of the electron transport chain, where much of the ATP bioenergy that runs every biological process of our lives is formed.

NADH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide hydrate) is a dietary supplement used to treat a variety of different conditions. In order to use NADH safely, you should talk with your healthcare provider prior to taking it if you have:

• Liver disease, such as liver failure, cirrhosis, or hepatitis
• Kidney disease, such as kidney failure (renal failure)
• Any other serious or chronic health condition
• Any allergies, including allergies to medications, foods, dyes, or preservatives.

Also, let your healthcare provider know if you are:

• Pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant
• Breastfeeding

You should also be sure to tell your healthcare provider about all of the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Warnings and precautions to be aware of concerning the safety of NADH include the following:

• Supplements (including NADH) are not as closely regulated as drugs are. In fact, supplements can be sold in the United States without ever having been shown to be safe or effective.


• If you have liver or kidney disease, check with your healthcare provider before taking any medication or supplement, including NADH. The liver and kidneys help clear many medications and supplements from the body.


• Check with your healthcare provider before taking NADH (or any other dietary supplement) if you have any chronic or serious medical conditions.


• It is not known if NADH supplements interact with other supplements or medications (see NADH Drug Interactions for more information).


• It is not known if NADH is safe for pregnant or breastfeeding women (see NADH and Pregnancy and NADH and Breastfeeding).


• If you decide to use supplements, be aware that what you see on the label may not reflect what is in the bottle. For example, some dietary supplements have been found to be contaminated with heavy metals or prescription drugs, and some have been found to have much more or much less of the featured ingredient than their label states. Therefore, make sure the manufacturer of your NADH product is trusted and reputable. It is a good sign if a manufacturer abides by the rules of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) for drugs. It is also a good sign if a product has the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) seal, which means that the product has been independently tested and shown to contain the correct ingredients in the amounts listed on the label. Your pharmacist is a good resource for information about which manufacturers are most reputable.

NADH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide hydrate) is a coenzyme molecule found throughout the human body. It is also used as a component of some dietary supplements. At this time, there are no known NADH side effects. However, this does not mean that NADH does not cause side effects; it simply means that no side effects have been reported, either in clinical studies or in case reports. Case reports are individual reports from healthcare providers about side effects seen in their patients. The lack of reported NADH side effects probably reflects a lack of NADH studies large enough to find side effects; it probably does not indicate that NADH really is free of side effects.

Make sure to tell your healthcare provider if you develop any side effects that you think may be related to NADH. Your healthcare provider will likely be interested in such possible side effects and may even want to report them, especially if the side effects are particularly serious or interesting. You should also let your healthcare provider know if you develop something that "just does not seem right" during treatment with NADH. While it may not be a side effect, your healthcare provider will be able to diagnose and treat the problem.

NADH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide hydrate) is a naturally occurring molecule found throughout the human body. It is also used as an ingredient in dietary supplements. It is not known if NADH interacts with other supplements or medications. No studies have been performed to see if medications or other supplements could cause drug interactions with NADH.

There may be NADH drug interactions that are not currently known. Therefore, it is a good idea to check with your healthcare provider or pharmacist before combining NADH with any other medication or supplement. While your healthcare provider or pharmacist probably will not be able to predict if an interaction might occur, he or she can help you decide if any potential interactions might be severe or not. For instance, an interaction with a nonessential medication (like an acne cream) is probably not as serious as an interaction with a life-saving medication (such as many heart medications).

If you take medications that are important to your health or medications that are sensitive to drug interactions, you may want to avoid NADH until more is known about possible NADH drug interactions. If you take medications that are particularly sensitive to drug interactions, your healthcare provider may want to monitor you more closely (using blood tests, if necessary) to see if any interaction occurs.