Vitamin B3 (Niacin)
Description and function
Niacin is the component of two important coenzymes, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP), which have a key role to play in glycolysis and oxidation-reduction reactions involved in cellular respiration. Niacin also has an important role to play in blood sugar regulation as a component of the Glucose Tolerance Factor (GTF), which potentiates the effect of insulin. It is also used to lower cholesterol levels.
Deficiency
Mild deficiency may cause skin and digestive problems. Severe deficiencies, which are rare in North America, are known to cause pellagra (characterized by dermatitis, inflammation of mucous membranes, diarrhea, and neurological or psychic dysfunction).
Sources
Niacin is widely distributed, especially in foods rich in proteins: chicken, beef, fish, nuts. Bread, cereals and pasta enriched in niacin are also good sources. Although eggs and milk products do not contain high levels of niacin they may also constitute a good source as they are rich in tryptophan, which is a precursor of niacin.
Toxicity
Excessive intake may cause digestive problems, skin redness and pruritus, hyperglycemia, hyperuricemia and liver toxicity.
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Scientific References
Books
Niacin. Dietary Reference Intakes: Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Pantothenic Acid, Biotin, and Choline, Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine, Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press; 1998:123-149.
Niacin, Cervantes-Laurean D, McElvaney NG, Moss J., In: Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease. 9th ed., Shils M, Olson JA, Shike M, Ross AC, eds., Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins; 1999:401-411.
Niacin, Jacob R, Swenseid M., In: Present Knowledge in Nutrition. 7th ed., Ziegler EE, Filer LJ, eds., Washington D.C: ILSI Press; 1996:185-190.
Nutritional Biochemistry. 2nd ed., Brody T., San Diego: Academic Press; 1999.
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PDR for Nutritional Supplements, Hendler SS, Rorvik DR, eds., Montvale: Medical Economics Company, Inc; 2001
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Pharmacology of micronutrients, Flodin N., New York: Alan R. Liss, Inc.; 1988.
Vitamins. Drug Facts and Comparisons, St. Louis: Facts and Comparisons; 2000:6-33.
Scientific Articles
Biochemical markers for assessment of niacin status in young men: levels of erythrocyte niacin coenzymes and plasma tryptophan, Fu CS, Swendseid ME, Jacob RA, McKee RW., Journal of Nutrition, 1989;119(12):1949-1955.
Discovering new ADP-ribose polymer cycles: protecting the genome and more, Jacobson MK, Jacobson EL., Trends in Biochemical Sciences. 1999;24(11):415-417.
Drug treatment of lipid disorders, Knopp RH., New England Journal of Medicine, 1999;341(7):498-511.
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Effect of nicotinic acid supplementation in vivo on oxygen radical-induced genetic damage in human lymphocytes, Weitberg AB., Mutation Research, 1989;216(4):197-201.
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Effect of very-low-dose niacin on high-density lipoprotein in patients undergoing long-term statin therapy, Wink J, Giacoppe G, King J., American Heart Journal, 2002;143(3):514-518.
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Effectiveness of food fortification in the United States: the case of pellagraPark YK, Sempos CT, Barton CN, Vanderveen JE, Yetley EA., American Journal of Public Health, 2000;90(5):727-738.
Effects of micronutrient intake on survival in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection, Tang AM, Graham NM, Saah AJ., American Journal of Epidemiology, 1996;143(12):1244-1256.
Evaluating niacin in its various forms, Knopp RH., The American Journal of Cardiology, 2000;86(12A):51L-56L.
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Fifteen year mortality in Coronary Drug Project patients: long-term benefit with niacin, Canner PL, Berge KG, Wenger NK, et al., Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 1986;8(6):1245-1255.
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Implications of interferon-induced tryptophan catabolism in cancer, auto-immune diseases and AID, Brown RR, Ozaki Y, Datta SP, Borden EC, Sondel PM, Malone DG., Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, 1991;294:425-435.
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Increased plasma tryptophan in HIV-infected patients treated with pharmacologic doses of nicotinamide, Murray MF, Langan M, MacGregor RR., Nutrition, 2001;17(7-8):654-656.
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Long-term safety and efficacy of a once-daily niacin/lovastatin formulation for patients with dyslipidemia, Kashyap ML, McGovern ME, Berra K, et al., The American Journal of Cardiology, 2002;89(6):672-678.
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Mapping the role of NAD metabolism in prevention and treatment of carcinogenesis, Jacobson EL, Shieh WM, Huang AC., Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, 1999;193(1-2):69-74.
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New perspectives on the use of niacin in the treatment of lipid disorders, McKenney J., Archives of Internal Medicine, 2004;164(7):697-705.
Niacin deficiency and cancer in women, Jacobson EL., Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 1993;12(4):412-416.
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Niacin deficiency decreases bone marrow poly(ADP-ribose) and the latency of ethylnitrosourea-induced carcinogenesis in rats, Boyonoski AC, Spronck JC, Gallacher LM, et al., Journal of Nutrition, 2002;132(1):108-114.
Niacin, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 and genomic stability, Hageman GJ, Stierum RH., Mutation Research, 2001;475(1-2):45-56.
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Nicotinamide's effects on glucose metabolism in subjects at risk for IDDM, Greenbaum CJ, Kahn SE, Palmer JP., Diabetes. 1996;45(11):1631-1634.
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Nicotinic acid supplementation: effects on niacin status, cytogenetic damage, and poly(ADP-ribosylation) in lymphocytes of smokers, Hageman GJ, Stierum RH, van Herwijnen MH, van der Veer MS, Kleinjans JC., Nutrition and Cancer, 1998;32(2):113-120.
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Nutritional Properties and significance of vitamin glycosides, Gregory JF, 3rd., Annual Review of Nutrition, 1998;18:277-296.
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Oral niacin prevents photocarcinogenesis and photoimmunosuppression in mice, Gensler HL, Williams T, Huang AC, Jacobson EL., Nutrition and Cancer, 1999;34(1):36-41.
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Role of macronutrients, vitamins and minerals in the aetiology of squamous-cell carcinoma of the oesophagus, Franceschi S, Bidoli E, Negri E, et al., International Journal of Cancer, 2000;86(5):626-631.
Selected micronutrients and oral and pharyngeal cancer, Negri E, Franceschi S, Bosetti C, et al., International Journal of Cancer, 2000;86(1):122-127.
Simvastatin and niacin, antioxidant vitamins, or the combination for the prevention of coronary disease, Brown BG, Zhao XQ, Chait A, et al., The New England Journal of Medicine, 2001;345(22):1583-1592.
The Deutsche Nicotinamide Intervention Study: an attempt to prevent type 1 diabetes, Lampeter EF, Klinghammer A, Scherbaum WA, et al. DENIS Group., Diabetes, 1998;47(6):980-984.
Tissue NAD as a biochemical measure of niacin status in humans, Jacobson EL, Jacobson MK., Methods in Enzymology, 1997;280:221-230.
Treatment of hyperlipidemia with combined niacin-statin regimens, Guyton JR, Capuzzi DM., The American Journal of Cardiology, 1998;82(12A):82U-84U; discussion 85-86U.
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Update on major trials for the prevention of type 1 diabetes mellitus: the American Diabetes Prevention Trial (DPT-1) and the European Nicotinamide Diabetes Intervention Trial (ENDIT), Schatz DA, Bingley PJ., Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2001;14 Suppl 1:619-622.
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