Interactions of nicotinamide (vitamin B3) with other micronutrients (vital substances):
The coenzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) can be synthesized in two ways:
- Niacin
- Essential amino acid tryptophan
The production of the vitamin niacin from tryptophan depends on enzymes that require vitamin B6 and riboflavin and an iron-containing enzyme. On average, 1 mg of niacin can be produced from 60 mg of tryptophan, which means 60 mg of tryptophan equals one niacin equivalent (NE). This means that adequate tryptophan intake alone could meet niacin requirements.
Yet pellagra studies from the southern United States during the early twentieth century showed that the diets of pellagra sufferers contained enough NE to prevent pellagra, assuming the conversion described above – yet they showed symptoms of deficiency.
Another study states that the tryptophan content of the diet had no effect on the niacin content of erythrocytes (red blood cells) in young men whose niacin levels were depressed due to a niacin-deficient diet.
