An oral small molecule that blocks NNMT — preserving cellular NAD+ and SAM levels, with early data for fat loss, muscle regeneration, and metabolic health.
5-Amino-1-methylquinolinium, or 5-Amino-1MQ, is an oral small molecule inhibitor of NNMT (nicotinamide N-methyltransferase). NNMT methylates nicotinamide (vitamin B3) into a waste product, consuming both NAD+ precursors and SAM (methyl donors). Blocking NNMT preserves NAD+, SAM, and favorably shifts cellular metabolism.
5-Amino-1MQ is a small molecule available both as oral capsules (covered here) and as an injectable subcutaneous preparation. It was developed academically and has not yet completed Phase 3 human trials, but the preclinical data are compelling for muscle regeneration, fat loss, and metabolic health. Prefer the needle-free route? This guide covers the oral capsule protocol. For the subcutaneous form — the route the original mouse studies actually used — see our injectable 5-Amino-1MQ guide.
Not FDA approved. Not WADA prohibited as of current list. Available as research chemical.
NNMT uses SAM (methyl donor) to convert nicotinamide into 1-MNA, which is excreted. Inhibiting NNMT preserves both NAD+ precursor pool and the SAM methyl-donor pool — critical for DNA methylation and hundreds of methylation reactions.
More nicotinamide available for the NAD+ salvage pathway means higher cellular NAD+ — a complementary mechanism to oral NMN or injectable NAD+.
NNMT is elevated in aging muscle and obesity-expanded adipose tissue. Inhibiting it in muscle enhances stem cell function (satellite cells) and in fat tissue increases metabolic rate and lipolysis.
| Benefit | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Fat loss | Mouse studies: ~7% body fat loss without caloric restriction |
| Muscle regeneration | Restored satellite cell function in aged mice; improved recovery from injury |
| Metabolic rate | Increased energy expenditure via enhanced fat oxidation |
| Insulin sensitivity | Preclinical improvements in glucose handling |
| NAD+ levels | Elevates cellular NAD+ via preserved nicotinamide |
Note: Human clinical data are limited. Most benefits are from preclinical models.
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Start Tracking FreeEverything known about this compound’s effects comes from animals and cell work. No human clinical trial has been published. That is the single most important fact on this page, and it frames everything below.
This is worth understanding before buying anything, because the dosing sold online spans an implausible range — from a few hundred micrograms a day at one end to tens or hundreds of milligrams at the other. Those cannot both be right; they differ by roughly a thousandfold.
The animal studies that produced every result above dosed systemically in the milligrams-per-kilogram range, which is ordinary small-molecule territory. A product supplying a few hundred micrograms daily is orders of magnitude below anything that has ever been tested, in any species. That is not a subtle argument about potency — it is arithmetic.
It is also worth knowing why such products exist at all. A 10 mg vial lasts about two months at 150 mcg a day and about two days at a dose resembling the research. The economics favour the version that cannot work.
NNMT competes for nicotinamide with NAMPT, the enzyme that actually drives NAD+ synthesis through the salvage pathway (Revollo et al., Cell Metabolism 2007, PMID 17983582). Inhibiting a clearance enzyme only frees up meaningful substrate where that enzyme is overexpressed — which, per Kraus, is a feature of obesity and metabolic dysfunction rather than a general condition. NNMT also has roles well beyond fat metabolism, including in cancer biology (Pissios, Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism 2017, PMID 28291578), and the consequences of inhibiting it long-term in humans are simply unknown.
Not medical advice. These figures describe what is reported in the literature and what practitioners and communities do — not a recommendation, and for most compounds here no human dose-finding study exists. Talk to a qualified healthcare provider.
Every efficacy result for this compound comes from animals dosed in milligrams per kilogram. There is no human trial and therefore no human dose-finding study. See the microdose discussion above: products supplying a few hundred micrograms daily sit orders of magnitude below anything tested in any species. The one pharmacokinetic dataset that exists is in rats (PMID 34304009): roughly 38% oral bioavailability and a terminal half-life near 7 hours — which supports once-daily oral dosing, and is rat data, not human.
This is the most useful thing to understand about the compound and it is usually left out. NNMT overexpression tracks body fat, not age. The Nature work that established the target (Kraus 2014, PMID 24717514) found NNMT is the most strongly reciprocally regulated gene in white adipose tissue in metabolic dysfunction, and elevated in the fat and liver of obese and diabetic animals.
Every impressive result comes from diet-induced obese animals. Those animals already had NNMT overexpressed; the drug corrected a dysfunction that was present. In a lean, metabolically healthy person, adipose NNMT sits at baseline — there is no pathological drain on the salvage pathway, and so nothing for an inhibitor to correct. The mechanism predicts a null result in exactly the population most likely to buy it.
There is a second reason not to use this as a general NAD+ strategy: NAMPT, the enzyme that converts nicotinamide into NAD+, has roughly 430-fold higher affinity for nicotinamide than NNMT does. Under normal conditions nicotinamide already flows preferentially toward NAD+ synthesis. NNMT only becomes a meaningful drain when it is heavily overexpressed. If NAD+ support is the goal, a direct precursor is the more coherent choice than an inhibitor of an enzyme that is not currently stealing much.
Two consequences worth planning around. Expect diminishing returns across cycles — as body fat falls, NNMT overexpression falls with it, so each successive cycle has less dysfunction left to correct. And for scale: allometric translation of the foundational mouse dosing lands near 400 mg/day for an adult, which is above every protocol in circulation, so even the milligram-range community doses are not clearly reproducing the animal exposure.
Start at 50 mg/day for the first 1–2 weeks to assess tolerance before titrating up.
Pre-filled with a typical 5-Amino-1MQ setup. Edit any field — the draw updates live.
Insulin syringe — 100 units = 1 mL
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Not medical advice. These figures describe what is reported in the literature and what practitioners and communities do — not a recommendation, and for most compounds here no human dose-finding study exists. Talk to a qualified healthcare provider.
5-Amino-1MQ is taken orally as capsules — no reconstitution needed.
5-Amino-1MQ is sold for research use only. If you are sourcing it for research, we recommend Lyvn — every batch third-party tested with the full laboratory panel published on the product page.
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For research use only. Not for human consumption. 21+.
Build your protocol, log every dose, monitor your body's response, and get reminders so you never miss a dose.
Start Tracking FreeNo. 5-Amino-1MQ has never been FDA approved and has not entered registered human clinical trials. It was developed at the University of Texas Medical Branch (Watowich lab) as an NNMT (nicotinamide N-methyltransferase) inhibitor. The molecule is sold only as a research chemical.
No — this is a frequent misconception. 5-Amino-1MQ is a small molecule (a quinolinium salt / methylated quinoline derivative), NOT a peptide. It is taken orally in capsule form. This distinguishes it from most of the compounds in the StackTrax library, which are injectable peptides.
Oral: community-practice 50–150 mg once daily, typically in the morning. Injectable: 1–5 mg subcutaneously once daily — much smaller mg quantities since SC bypasses any first-pass / GI losses. No human RCT-validated dose exists for either route; both ranges come from clinic and community convention based on allometric scaling of mouse studies.
Two routes are commercially available. Oral capsules (typically 50–100 mg) are the form used in all published preclinical research. Injectable preparations (e.g., 5 mg lyophilized vials, including NextGen Peptides) are sold by some research-grade vendors — pharmacology of the subcutaneous route has not been formally characterized in peer-reviewed studies, so dose-equivalence with oral is empirical rather than published. Choose based on availability and personal protocol.
It inhibits NNMT (nicotinamide N-methyltransferase), an enzyme that consumes S-adenosyl-methionine (SAM) and nicotinamide (a NAD+ precursor) to produce 1-methylnicotinamide. By blocking NNMT, the molecule spares nicotinamide and SAM — indirectly supporting NAD+ levels and methylation-pool capacity in tissues that overexpress NNMT (adipose tissue, certain cancers). Mouse studies show fat-mass reduction without caloric restriction.
Not specifically named on the WADA Prohibited List as of 2025–2026. WADA reserves discretion under S0 (Non-Approved Substances) to sweep substances not currently listed elsewhere — 5-Amino-1MQ arguably falls under that umbrella. Competitive athletes should verify the current-year list before use.
Disclaimer: This guide is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The compounds discussed are not FDA approved for human use. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before starting any new supplement or peptide protocol. StackTrax does not sell peptides or supplements directly — purchase links go to third-party vendors. StackTrax is not responsible for the products, quality, or business practices of any third-party vendor.
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StackTrax guides cover peptides and compounds that are not FDA-approved for the uses discussed. The dosing, reconstitution, and safety information is compiled from published research and community protocols for educational purposes only.
Before using any compound mentioned here, consult a qualified healthcare provider. StackTrax does not sell, prescribe, or recommend these substances for personal use.