SUMMARY

There is ongoing, and considerable concern regarding the stability of NMN and trans-resveratrol as it pertains to elevated temperatures, UV, and humidity. At the time of this publication, there was, to our knowledge, no publicly available data on stability testing on NMN and trans-resveratrol by a verified third-party laboratory. Therefore, we decided to undertake an evaluation of stability under exposure to an elevated temperature, one that could establish a safety profile to wrap some certainty around the short-term shipping of the product and any temperature variability encountered. Exposure to UV and humidity were not considered for this evaluation on the basis that it isn’t relevant exposure as it is related to the domestic and international shipment of the product in sealed containers, in a parcel.

A 30-day evaluation of the product was run with an initial test at t=0 to establish a baseline and another test at t=30 days to measure the results. The conditions of the test were done at an elevated temperature of 104°F (40°C) to mimic a worst-case scenario for a package in transit.

The evaluation results demonstrated there was no significant degradation of either active ingredient across the test timeline.

WHY COLD STORAGE?

Although this short-term stability evaluation confirmed the original hypothesis, based on what we saw in the clinical data short-term exposure ambient temperatures, or even extreme humidity didn’t result in an instant degradation, and that short-term exposure through shipping wasn’t of concern. However, long-term exposure to elevated temperature still remains a concern, for NMN, trans-resveratrol, and most other supplements – especially fish oil and probiotics. Most warehouses (including Amazon FBA facilities) don’t offer climate-controlled environments, and in the warmer climates can see rather high average daily temperatures inside the building. While more research needs to be done to learn more about the stability of NMN, trans-resveratrol, and other supplements, we still abide by the precautionary principle and will continue to use our cold storage warehouse to store our products.

INTERPRETING THE DATA

All tests were done by High-performance liquid chromatography, specifically HPLC for NMN, and UPLC for trans-resveratrol. As with all test methods, there is a realistic window of tolerance, in this case, defined by the relative standard deviation (RSD) expressed as a percentage. The RSD% for the NMN test is 0.3%, and the RSD% for the trans-resveratrol is 2%.

Given the nature of this analysis, the data was reported to three significant figures, which for this series of tests translates the results to the nearest whole milligram, and does not parse the results down to fractions of a milligram.

Applying the RSD%, and noting the significant figures, the NMN t=0 test result was 250mg +/- 0.3% – meaning the expected real number could, and should, be anywhere between 249.25mg – 250.75mg. The NMN t=30 test result was 251mg +/- 0.3% – or in the range of 250.247 – 251.753mg. If these numbers are rounded to the nearest whole milligram that would put the t=0 and the t=30 ranges at 249mg – 251mg and 250mg – 252mg respectively. The significant overlap of these ranges demonstrates that there is likely to be less degradation than the test method is able to detect, and with potential, but undetectable, degradation in the very low single-digit milligrams, we see no significant degradation present during this stability test for NMN

The trans-resveratrol t=0 test result was 268mg +/- 2% – or in the range of 262.64mg – 273.36mg. The trans-resveratrol t=30 test result was 260mg +/- 2% – or in the range of 254.8mg – 265.2mg. If these numbers are rounded to the nearest whole milligram that would put the t=0 and the t=30 ranges at 263mg – 273mg and 256mg – 265mg respectively. The overlap of these ranges demonstrates that there is likely to be less degradation than the test method is able to detect, and with potential, but undetectable, degradation in the very low single-digit milligrams, we see no significant degradation present during this stability test for trans-resveratrol.