5-Amino-1MQ

What it is

5-Amino-1MQ, sometimes shortened to 5A-1MQ, belongs to a class chemists call small molecules; its structure is a compact ring-based compound, not a string of amino acids joined end to end the way a peptide is built. Its target is an enzyme called nicotinamide N-methyltransferase, or NNMT for short, found inside fat and muscle cells. NNMT uses up a chemical building block that cells also need to make NAD+, a molecule central to how a cell converts food into usable energy. By slowing NNMT down, researchers believe more of that building block stays available for NAD+ production [2].

The compound was first built and tested as a tool for studying obesity in mice, where diet had been used to make the animals overweight. More recent work has moved into muscle biology in older mice, asking whether propping up cellular NAD+ can offset some of the strength loss that comes with age [1][3]. Because it can be taken by mouth rather than injected, it has been simple for researchers to test across these different study designs.

How it is studied

All of the published research on 5-Amino-1MQ has been carried out in mice and rats, given the compound either by mouth or by injection under the skin, over periods ranging from about eleven days to eight weeks. Researchers have tracked body weight, the size of individual fat cells, blood cholesterol, and physical performance measures such as grip strength and running distance, usually comparing treated animals against untreated controls and, in one study, against animals doing a structured exercise program [1][3]. A separate rat study measured how much of an amount given by mouth actually reaches the bloodstream and how long it stays there [2].

What studies report

• In mice made obese through diet, eleven days of the compound was linked to a small drop in body weight and smaller fat cells, without any change in how much the animals ate. [3]
• In old mice, eight weeks of the compound was linked to noticeably stronger grip, an effect similar in size to what a program of exercise produced on its own, with the largest gains when the two were combined. [1]
• In rats, an amount given by mouth reached the bloodstream at a moderate rate, showing that the molecule can be absorbed well enough through the gut to be studied as a swallowed compound rather than only an injection. [2]

What is not known

No human clinical trial of 5-Amino-1MQ has been published, so everything currently known about it comes from mice and rats. It is not known whether the changes in NAD+ and NNMT activity seen in animals would produce any measurable effect in people, at what amount, or with what balance of benefit and risk. The animal studies used relatively small groups over short windows of time, which limits how confidently even the animal findings can be generalized to longer use or to different strains and species.

Reported adverse findings

• The published mouse and rat studies describe the compound as generally well tolerated at the doses tested, without reporting serious harm to the animals. [1][3]

Regulatory status

No national medicines regulator, including the FDA and Health Canada, has approved 5-Amino-1MQ for any use in humans. At present it exists only as a compound studied in animal laboratory experiments, with no marketed drug or supplement status anywhere.