This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Niacin

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Niacin, also known as nicotinic acid, is a water soluble vitamin derived from the amino acid tryptophan. Nicotinamide is its amide form. It is an essential component of the coenzymes NAD and NADP, concerned with energy releasing reactions.

Sources include yeast, meats, liver, fish, whole-grain products, peas, beans, instant coffee, cheese and nuts. Milk and eggs have minimal niacin content but contain tryptophan. Metabolically, niacin can be produced from tryptophan in the presence of pyridoxine. Typically, half the physiological requirements of niacin are obtained directly whereas the other half is obtained from tryptophan.

In lipid metabolism, it inhibits production of cholesterol and assists in fat breakdown.

Deficiency results in pellagra.


Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page