5-Amino-1MQ
5-amino-1-methylquinolinium, NNMT inhibitor
A small molecule NNMT inhibitor with genuinely interesting metabolic biology in mice, sold as an oral fat loss capsule with no human trial of any kind behind it.
Preclinical only
Not approved anywhere and never submitted for approval. Not a peptide and not a dietary ingredient with an established regulatory pathway. Sold as research material.
What it is
Nicotinamide N-methyltransferase, NNMT, consumes nicotinamide and a methyl group to produce 1-methylnicotinamide. It sits at a junction between NAD salvage and methyl group metabolism, and it is upregulated in obesity and in several cancers.
5-Amino-1MQ inhibits it. In mice on a high fat diet, NNMT inhibition reduces fat mass without reducing food intake, and related work reports effects on muscle stem cell function in aged animals.
That is real, interesting biology from credible laboratories. It is also entirely preclinical.
The gap between the science and the product
There is no human trial of 5-Amino-1MQ. Not a completed one, not a failed one, not a phase 1 safety study. The compound is sold as a capsule with a dose nobody established, for a duration nobody studied, on the strength of mouse data.
Review work on NNMT inhibitors is explicit that the field is at the stage of thinking about clinical translation rather than having done it, and much of the current effort is going into different modalities such as antisense oligonucleotides rather than this molecule.
The NAD interaction is worth understanding
NNMT disposes of nicotinamide. Inhibiting it means more nicotinamide remains available for NAD salvage, which is one proposed reason the mechanism looks attractive.
That also means stacking it with NAD+ or its oral precursors is pushing on the same pathway from two directions, with no human data on either the combination or the individual pieces. People do this routinely. Nobody has any idea what it does.
Practical notes
- Interesting mechanism is not evidence of benefit. This site rates compounds on the evidence for the use people take them for. For fat loss in humans, that evidence here is zero.
- It is a small molecule, not a peptide. It is sold through peptide vendors and discussed in peptide communities, but it is an orally active quinolinium compound with entirely different absorption, distribution and metabolism.
- Methyl group metabolism is not a system to perturb casually. NNMT sits on the same pathway that supplies methylation for DNA, neurotransmitters and hormones. Long-term inhibition in humans is uncharted.
Side effects and warning signs
Commonly reported
- Reported effects are limited to mild gastrointestinal upset and headache, entirely from self-report
- No systematic human safety dataset exists, so the short list reflects absence of study rather than absence of risk
Stop and get medical help
- Nicotinamide N-methyltransferase is broadly expressed, including in liver and adipose tissue, and the consequences of inhibiting it long term in humans are unknown
- Any unexpected systemic symptom, since there is no baseline for what normal looks like on this compound
Sources
From the community
Discussion for this compound concentrates in r/Biohackers and r/Peptides.
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