In September, we reported on the American botanical ingredient and analytics firm and the Hong Kong-based retailer teaming up to launch the product in Asia, starting with Hong Kong.
Now, the dietary supplement, which comes in capsule form, is available in over 100 Watsons outlets in Singapore, as well as the retailer’s local online store.
Ageing population could benefit
Watsons Singapore COO Irene Lau believes the product, which is said to have anti-ageing benefits, will contribute to better health in old age.
She said, “Singapore is feeling the impact of a rapidly ageing population, and that comes with a set of needs to keep our population active, fit and healthy. We want to be able to meet those needs and bring (in) health and nutritional products that can better the lives of Singaporeans.”
She further expressed confidence that TRU NIAGEN can indeed support important biological functions — including muscle, liver, nerve and cognitive functions — that grow more vulnerable as a person ages.
Scientifically proven?
TRU NIAGEN’s key ingredient is nicotinamide riboside (NR), said to boost nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), an enzyme in the human body responsible for regulating metabolism, producing energy, resisting cellular stresses, and contributing to DNA repair.
According to the product’s chief scientific advisor Dr Charles Brenner, multiple studies have demonstrated NR’s efficacy in boosting NAD, which is often depleted by factors such as alcohol consumption, major time zone changes, sun damage, excessive food intake, neurodegeneration and heart disease.
Speaking to NutraIngredients-Asia at the product’s Singapore launch, he revealed that he had first discovered NR in 2004, as a natural milk-derived ingredient and a vitamin precursor of NAD.
He then spent the next decade or so raising awareness about NR and NAD, diversifying NR’s uses in novel therapeutic areas, and conducting clinical trials that eventually led him to develop a safe and convenient form of NR for human consumption.
He said, “In mouse studies, NR was found to help mice on high-fat diets resist weight gain, and to protect them from noise-induced hearing loss. In humans, NR was clinically proven to elevate NAD.
“(Other possible effects are) faster fingernail and hair growth, improved brain function and sleep, and better resistance to stress.”
Possible future formats
While TRU NIAGEN is currently available only in capsule form, those who prefer not to pop pills may be able to enjoy its purported health benefits in other forms in future.
ChromaDex CEO and co-founder Frank Jaksch, Jr. told NutraIngredients-Asia: “We are looking at developing and selling the product in other formats, like a sachet containing the powdered NR that you could mix into your drink or even protein shake.”
He added that according to consumer feedback, TRU NIAGEN had skincare benefits as well.
He said, “We definitely want to explore the possibility of developing a format whereby you can apply the product topically, so that the skincare benefits will be even more pronounced.”
TRU NIAGEN currently retails in bottles of 60 capsules each, at S$69.90 per bottle or $178.25 for a box of three bottles.