Cream did not protect mouse skin from repeated ultraviolet damage
Female mice given 5% nicotinamide mononucleotide cream after ultraviolet B exposure three times weekly through week 25 showed no protection against skin damage.
Our read
Interventions- Studied:
- Experiments in female C57BL/6NJcl mice, against UVB-only or vehicle-cream-treated mice
- What changed:
- NMN cream did not reduce skin damage compared with ultraviolet exposure alone or base cream
- The catch:
- Only 5% NMN cream was evaluated; other concentrations were not measured
- In the record:
- One of 726 papers on nicotinamide mononucleotide on record: 103 with results in people, 327 in animals.
- Why it’s aging research:
- An intervention with evidence on lifespan or healthspan.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Female C57BL/6NJcl mice took part in an experiment testing a cream containing 5% nicotinamide mononucleotide, a compound studied as a potential anti-aging intervention. Researchers compared four groups: unexposed mice and mice exposed to ultraviolet B radiation with no cream, a base cream or the experimental cream. Shaved back skin received radiation three times weekly, with creams applied afterward through week 25.
All exposed groups developed progressive skin damage. The experimental cream group showed a trend toward worse clinical damage at week 25, but the difference was not statistically significant. Microscopic examination found statistically significant increases in the thickness of the skin’s outer layer and abnormal cell development from week 12 to the late endpoint only in this group. The authors concluded that long-term application did not protect skin and may have contributed to worsening damage.
Why it matters
Long-term safety on chronically light-damaged skin is an important question for nicotinamide mononucleotide’s proposed use as an anti-aging intervention.
Caveats
The experiment tested one cream concentration in female mice of one strain under repeated ultraviolet B exposure, not use in people. The trend toward worse clinical damage was not statistically significant.
- Nicotinamide mononucleotide
- Epidermal dysplasia
- Chronic UVB-induced skin damage
- KRT1 expression
- Krt16 expression
- Mice
Nicotinamide mononucleotide is part of David Sinclair's daily regimen in LifespanMore supplements
The paper
Chulabhorn International College of Medicine; Thammasat University
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Oct 31, 2026, CC BY
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