Nicotinamide Riboside Dosage Australia 2026: How Much

Last updated: November 1, 2026 · Originally published: June 12, 2026 · By Eternal Elixir Editorial

Quick answer: Human trials have tested nicotinamide riboside (NR) at 100mg to 2,000mg a day, and the most-studied dosage is 1,000mg a day, usually split into 500mg twice daily. In an 8-week trial of 140 adults, 100mg, 300mg and 1,000mg a day raised whole-blood NAD+ by 22%, 51% and 142%, with the rise showing within 2 weeks. Most NR supplements sold in Australia give 300mg per capsule. Our pick is Eternal Elixir Pure NR 500mg: 500mg in one capsule a day, 90 capsules for $59.99, which is $0.67 a day. That serve sits between the 300mg and 1,000mg trial doses, and it is half the 1,000mg a day used in the most-cited trial.

Eternal Elixir makes Pure NR 500mg, and it is our pick in this guide, so weigh our view with that in mind. Every study figure below comes from the published paper, and every competitor price was read from that product’s own page in September 2026. We have not lab-tested any of these products.

What is nicotinamide riboside?

Nicotinamide riboside is a form of vitamin B3. Your cells turn it into NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide), a coenzyme used in energy metabolism and by enzymes that help maintain normal cell function. The body can’t absorb NAD+ well when it’s swallowed whole, so supplements give a precursor instead. NR and NMN are the two most common.

Blood NAD+ is the thing the NR trials measure most reliably, and it is the main reason people take NR. How NAD+ changes with age is covered in our guide to NAD+ decline by age. If you’re choosing between the two precursors, our NMN vs NR comparison goes through them side by side, and our NAD+ supplements guide covers the wider field.

Nicotinamide riboside dosage: how much should you take?

There is no official daily amount for NR. What we have is a handful of human trials at different doses. Here is every dose level from the trials we used, and what each one found:

Two things stand out. Blood NAD+ rises with the dose, at least up to 1,000mg a day. And a higher NAD+ reading hasn’t been shown to bring a bigger benefit you would notice. The 2,000mg trial raised NAD+ markers without changing any of the metabolic outcomes it measured.

In practice:

• 300mg a day is what most NR capsules in Australia provide. It raised blood NAD+ by about half in the Conze trial.
• 500mg a day is one capsule of ours. It is more than the common 300mg serve, and half the 1,000mg a day used in the Martens and Conze high-dose groups.
• 1,000mg a day is the most-studied amount. The trials split it into two 500mg doses. Our label says one capsule a day, so talk to your doctor before taking more than the label dose.

Our NMN dosage guide uses the same approach for NR’s closest relative.

How much NR is in the supplements sold in Australia?

The milligrams per capsule vary more than the prices suggest, so the fair comparison is the cost of 500mg of NR. Every row below uses its own label’s serve, in Australian dollars, as of Sep 2026.

Our price is from our live product page. Other prices were read from the linked pages in September 2026 and change often.

Add Pure NR 500mg to cart · $59.99

Per 500mg of NR, our capsules cost the least of the four, and they are the only ones here with 500mg in a single capsule. Naturecan is the next cheapest at $0.80 a day for 300mg. Tru Niagen costs the most per milligram, but it has one thing the others don’t. The Conze and Martens trials both used NIAGEN, a branded NR chloride, and Tru Niagen’s product page says it contains Niagen. Our label lists nicotinamide riboside without naming a branded form. If you want the exact ingredient from those two trials, that is a fair reason to pay more.

When and how to take nicotinamide riboside

• Time of day. Our label says one capsule a day, preferably in the morning, and most NR labels say the same. No trial we found compared morning with evening, so pick a time you’ll stick to.
• With or without food. No trial we found compared the two. Follow your label. If NR upsets your stomach, taking it with breakfast is a simple fix.
• Splitting a higher dose. The trials that used 1,000mg or 2,000mg a day gave it in two doses. If your doctor agrees to a higher intake, splitting it matches what was tested.
• Cycling. No trial has tested cycling NR on and off. The trials above gave it every day for up to 12 weeks.

How long does NR take to work?

Blood NAD+ rises quickly. In the Conze trial, NAD+ was up within 2 weeks at every dose, and it stayed up for the rest of the 8 weeks. Whether you would feel anything is less clear. The Martens trial found no change in exercise performance measures, and the 12-week Dollerup trial found no change in insulin sensitivity, energy expenditure or body composition. If you take NR, judge it over 8 to 12 weeks, and expect any change to be subtle.

What the research says about NR, and what it doesn’t

The clearest finding across the trials is that NR raises NAD+ in blood, and in one small study, in muscle. Beyond that, the results are thin:

• Martens et al., 2018: 30 healthy adults aged 55 to 79 took 500mg twice a day or a placebo for 6 weeks each, in random order. NAD+ in blood immune cells rose about 60% compared with placebo. The physical measures were exploratory, and the authors called for larger trials.
• Elhassan et al., 2019: 12 older men took 1g a day or a placebo for 21 days each. NR raised NAD+ metabolites in muscle and lowered some inflammatory markers in the blood, with no change in how their muscle mitochondria produced energy.
• Dollerup et al., 2018: 40 sedentary men aged 40 to 70 with a BMI over 30 took 1,000mg twice a day or a placebo for 12 weeks. NR appeared safe but did not improve insulin sensitivity, glucose use, energy expenditure or body composition.

What hasn’t been shown: no human trial has shown that NR slows ageing or extends lifespan. The striking results people quote about NAD+ precursors mostly come from mice, and those don’t carry over to humans automatically. The human trials here lasted 9 days to 12 weeks, and ChromaDex, the maker of NIAGEN, funded the Conze trial. Our guide to nicotinamide riboside benefits goes through each outcome in more detail.

Is your NR dosage safe? Side effects to know

• Up to 1,000mg a day for 8 weeks: the Conze trial found no flushing and no difference in side effects between NR and placebo at any dose. NR did not raise LDL cholesterol.
• 1,000mg a day for 6 weeks: in the Martens trial, 7 of the 30 participants reported mild side effects. During the NR phase these included nausea, flushing, leg cramps and easier bruising. People also reported flushing, headache and other symptoms while taking the placebo.
• 2,000mg a day for 12 weeks: the Dollerup trial reported no serious side effects, and safety blood tests stayed normal.

None of the trials above included pregnant or breastfeeding women, and the Melrose FutureLab label, for one, says it isn’t recommended then or for children under 12. We give the same advice for ours. If you take prescription medicines or have a health condition, talk to your doctor or pharmacist before you start. Our review of long-term safety research on NAD+ precursors covers the wider picture.

Our pick: Eternal Elixir Pure NR 500mg

Eternal Elixir Pure NR 500mg holds 500mg of nicotinamide riboside in each capsule, with rice flour and a cellulose capsule as the only other ingredients. The label says to take one capsule a day, preferably in the morning, and a bottle of 90 capsules lasts 90 days.

• 500mg in one capsule. That is more NR per capsule than any other product in the table above, so one capsule covers the serve.
• $0.67 a day. $59.99 buys 90 serves, the lowest cost per 500mg of NR in our comparison.
• Sent from Sydney. Orders are dispatched in 1 business day, with free shipping over $100.
• Bigger orders cost less. Two bottles save 10%, three save 15% and five save 20%. A 30-day money-back guarantee applies, and Afterpay is available.
• Batch testing. Our product page says every batch is third-party tested for purity and potency, and we will send the current certificate of analysis if you ask.

Who it suits: adults who want a daily NR serve above the common 300mg, in one capsule, at the lowest cost per milligram we found.

Who it doesn’t suit: anyone who specifically wants the branded NIAGEN form used in the Conze and Martens trials (Tru Niagen is the product for that), anyone pregnant or breastfeeding, and children. If you want the 1,000mg a day used in the trials, talk to your doctor first, because our label gives one 500mg capsule a day.

Add Pure NR 500mg to cart · $59.99

NR vs NMN dosage

NMN is the other common NAD+ precursor, one step closer to NAD+ than NR. The NMN trials have mostly used 250mg to 900mg a day, and our NMN 500mg gives 500mg in one capsule for the same $0.67 a day. There is no head-to-head human trial showing one precursor beats the other. If you’re deciding, our NR supplements comparison and how much NMN to take are good next reads.

Nicotinamide riboside dosage: frequently asked questions

How much nicotinamide riboside should I take a day?

Most NR supplements give 300mg a day, and ours gives 500mg in one capsule. Trials have tested 100mg to 2,000mg a day, and the most-studied amount is 1,000mg, split into two doses. Follow your product’s label, and talk to your doctor before going above it.

Is 300mg of NR enough?

It raises blood NAD+. In an 8-week trial, 300mg a day raised whole-blood NAD+ by 51%, against 142% at 1,000mg. Whether a bigger rise brings a bigger benefit you’d notice hasn’t been shown.

Is 1,000mg of nicotinamide riboside too much?

Trials have used 1,000mg a day for up to 8 weeks and 2,000mg a day for 12 weeks without serious side effects. That is short-term data. Nobody has tested those doses for years, so go above your label dose only with your doctor’s advice.

Can you take nicotinamide riboside every day?

Yes. That is how it was studied: every trial above gave NR daily, for 9 days to 12 weeks.

When is the best time to take NR?

Most labels, including ours, say the morning. No trial we found compared times of day, so take it at the time you’ll remember.

How long does nicotinamide riboside take to work?

Blood NAD+ rose within 2 weeks in the Conze trial and stayed up through 8 weeks. Changes you can feel are less certain, so give it 8 to 12 weeks before you judge it.

What is the best NR supplement in Australia?

Our pick is Eternal Elixir Pure NR 500mg: 500mg per capsule, 90 capsules for $59.99, or $0.67 a day, shipped from Sydney. Naturecan NR is the next lowest cost per milligram in our table, and Tru Niagen is the one to choose if you want the branded Niagen form used in two of the main trials.

Buy Pure NR 500mg · $59.99

Does nicotinamide riboside cause flushing?

Usually not. The Conze trial reported no flushing at up to 1,000mg a day. In the Martens trial a few people reported flushing on NR, but some reported it on placebo too.

The bottom line

The NR trials tested 100mg to 2,000mg a day, and 1,000mg split into two doses is the most-studied amount. Most Australian NR capsules give 300mg. Our pick, Eternal Elixir Pure NR 500mg, gives 500mg in one capsule for $0.67 a day, which sits between the 300mg and 1,000mg trial doses at the lowest cost per milligram in our comparison. Take it daily at the label dose, judge it over 8 to 12 weeks, and talk to your doctor before going higher.

More from our range: browse every Eternal Elixir product, or read our Tru Niagen review, our spermidine dosage guide and our resveratrol dosage guide.

Sources

1. Conze D, Brenner C, Kruger CL. Safety and metabolism of long-term administration of NIAGEN (nicotinamide riboside chloride) in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of healthy overweight adults. Scientific Reports. 2019;9(1):9772. PubMed 31278280
2. Martens CR, Denman BA, Mazzo MR, et al. Chronic nicotinamide riboside supplementation is well-tolerated and elevates NAD+ in healthy middle-aged and older adults. Nature Communications. 2018;9(1):1286. PubMed 29599478
3. Elhassan YS, Kluckova K, Fletcher RS, et al. Nicotinamide riboside augments the aged human skeletal muscle NAD+ metabolome and induces transcriptomic and anti-inflammatory signatures. Cell Reports. 2019;28(7):1717-1728. PubMed 31412242
4. Dollerup OL, Christensen B, Svart M, et al. A randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial of nicotinamide riboside in obese men: safety, insulin-sensitivity, and lipid-mobilizing effects. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2018;108(2):343-353. PubMed 29992272
5. Airhart SE, Shireman LM, Risler LJ, et al. An open-label, non-randomized study of the pharmacokinetics of the nutritional supplement nicotinamide riboside (NR) and its effects on blood NAD+ levels in healthy volunteers. PLoS One. 2017;12(12):e0186459. PubMed 29211728
6. Product pages read September 2026: Naturecan NR, Melrose FutureLab NAD+ Booster at Chemist Warehouse, Tru Niagen at Pharmacy Online, Tru Niagen brand site.
7. Eternal Elixir Pure NR 500mg product page and label. eternalelixir.com.au