5-Amino-1MQ

Also known as: 5-amino-1-methylquinolinium, NNMT inhibitor

Weight ManagementWellness

In plain English

5-Amino-1MQ is a small molecule (not a peptide) that blocks an enzyme called NNMT, which is very active in fat tissue. Blocking it is meant to raise cellular NAD+ and shift fat cells toward burning rather than storing energy. In obese mice it reduced body weight and fat without changing how much they ate. There are no completed, published human efficacy trials, and it is not FDA-approved; it is sold as a research chemical.

The science

5-Amino-1MQ (5-amino-1-methylquinolinium) is a selective, membrane-permeable small-molecule inhibitor of nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT), an enzyme overexpressed in white adipose tissue that consumes NAD+ and S-adenosylmethionine to methylate nicotinamide. In diet-induced obese mice, systemic 5-Amino-1MQ reduced body weight, white adipose mass, and adipocyte size and lowered plasma cholesterol without reducing food intake, while raising intracellular NAD+ and SAM (Neelakantan et al., 2018). It is a chemical, not a peptide. Evidence is preclinical; there are no published completed human efficacy trials, it is not on the FDA's list of bulk substances permitted for compounding, and it is not FDA-approved.

References

• Neelakantan H et al., Biochem Pharmacol 2018 (NNMT inhibitor reverses diet-induced obesity in mice)