What is 5-Amino-1MQ? The NNMT inhibitor and the studies

5-Amino-1MQ (5-amino-1-methylquinolinium) is a small organic molecule. It is not a peptide, because it is not made of amino acids. Chemically it belongs to the N-methylated quinoliniums, a group of compounds built on the quinoline ring.

It is studied as an inhibitor of the enzyme NNMT (nicotinamide N-methyltransferase). The use of quinoliniums as NNMT inhibitors was described in 2017 by researchers at universities in Texas, in a study that examined the structure-activity relationships of a series of derivatives (Neelakantan et al., J Med Chem 2017, PMID 28548833). In that study the quinoliniums emerged as the most promising chemical group, and computational binding models showed that they bind selectively to the site of the enzyme where its substrate binds.

NNMT is an enzyme of the cytoplasm. It transfers a methyl group from the cofactor S-adenosyl-methionine (SAM) to small molecules (Neelakantan et al., Biochemistry 2017, PMID 28121423). Its main substrate is nicotinamide, a form of vitamin B3, and the product of the reaction is 1-methylnicotinamide (1-MNA).

Nicotinamide is a raw material for recycling NAD+, a coenzyme that takes part in the cell's energy metabolism. When NNMT methylates nicotinamide, it removes it from this pathway and at the same time consumes SAM. The research hypothesis behind NNMT inhibitors is that, if the enzyme is inhibited, more of these molecules remain available inside the cell. More on this coenzyme in the article on NAD+.

In publications, NNMT has been associated with various chronic conditions, including metabolic, cardiovascular and kidney conditions (PMID 28121423). Association does not mean that the enzyme causes them.

Peptides are chains of amino acids joined to each other by peptide bonds. 5-Amino-1MQ has no such chain. It is a quinolinium ring with two small chemical groups: a methyl group on the nitrogen (the "1-M" in the name) and an amino group at position 5 (the "5-Amino").

The word "amino" often causes confusion. Here it refers to the amino group (-NH2), a chemical group, not an amino acid. The molecule is often mentioned alongside peptides on websites and in discussions, but it belongs to a different class of compounds: it is a small molecule, like caffeine for example. What peptides actually are is explained in the guide "What are peptides".

Laboratory studies in cells mainly examined whether the substance reaches the enzyme and what changes when it inhibits it:

• Permeability and selectivity (Neelakantan et al., Biochem Pharmacol 2018, PMID 29155147): quinoliniums carrying an amino group, such as 5-Amino-1MQ, crossed cell membranes in laboratory permeability models. They did not inhibit related methyltransferases that use SAM, nor enzymes of the NAD+ recycling pathway.
• Metabolites (same study): in cultured mouse fat cells (adipocytes), lower intracellular levels of 1-MNA, the product of NNMT, and higher levels of NAD+ and SAM were measured. Lipogenesis was also reduced in these cells.
• Myoblasts (Neelakantan et al., Biochem Pharmacol 2019, PMID 30753815): in a culture of muscle precursor cells, greater differentiation of the cells was recorded, together with changes in the NAD+/NADH ratio.

The animal studies presented here were done in mice and examined two main areas: body weight together with metabolic parameters, and the function of skeletal muscle.

Body weight and metabolic parameters in experimental models: • Neelakantan et al., Biochem Pharmacol 2018 (PMID 29155147): in mice that gained weight on a high-fat diet, the inhibitor group had lower body weight and lower white adipose tissue mass than the control group, as well as lower total plasma cholesterol. Total food intake did not differ between the groups. The size of the changes is not given here; it is in the publication. • Babula et al., Diabetes Obes Metab 2024 (PMID 39161060): in the same type of model, in a 28-day study, the gain in body weight and fat mass was smaller in the inhibitor group. Better glucose tolerance, greater insulin sensitivity and lower insulin levels were also recorded. In the liver, steatosis and macrophage infiltration were milder, and the blood values of the liver enzymes ALT and AST and of ketone bodies were within normal levels.

Skeletal muscle: • Neelakantan et al., Biochem Pharmacol 2019 (PMID 30753815): in 24-month-old mice, after an experimental muscle injury, the inhibitor group had greater proliferation of muscle stem cells, nearly twice the cross-sectional area of muscle fibres and about 70% greater peak contraction torque of the muscle compared with the control group. • Dimet-Wiley et al., Sci Rep 2024 (PMID 38969654): in mice aged 22 to 24 months, the inhibitor, intensive exercise and their combination were compared. Compared with sedentary control mice, grip strength was about 40% greater in sedentary mice given the inhibitor, 20% greater in exercised mice without the inhibitor and 60% greater with the combination.

In the two 2024 studies, some of the authors list a private biotechnology company as their affiliation. The research is at a preclinical stage, and findings in animal models do not automatically carry over to humans.

None have been published. A PubMed search on 26/10/2026 (terms: 5-amino-1MQ, 5A1MQ, 5-amino-1-methylquinolinium, methylquinolinium or NNMT inhibitor, with a clinical-trial filter) found no published study of 5-Amino-1MQ in humans. On the same day, no registered clinical study with the substance was found in the ClinicalTrials.gov registry.

This means there are no published data on how the molecule behaves in the human body, on adverse effects or on results in humans.

5-Amino-1MQ has not been approved as a medicine. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) medicines database has no entry for the substance, and the US FDA drug database (Drugs@FDA) has no entry either (checked 26/10/2026). It is a research substance at a preclinical stage.

• There are no published studies in humans, so it is not known whether the findings in cells and mice also hold in humans.
• The animal studies are few and last a few weeks. No published long-term studies were found.
• The data on body weight, metabolic parameters and skeletal muscle presented here come from one research group and its collaborators. Other groups publish studies with NNMT inhibitors, but their abstracts often do not name the substance, and the full text of each was not checked.
• NNMT takes part in more than one metabolic pathway, NAD+ recycling and methionine metabolism. The consequences of inhibiting it at the level of the whole organism have not been fully mapped.

A certificate of analysis records the purity of the substance measured by HPLC, its identity (for example by mass spectrometry), the laboratory that ran the analysis and the batch number it refers to. Published certificates are in the COA library.

No. It is a small organic molecule, a quinolinium derivative. It contains no amino acids; the "amino" in the name refers to an amino group.

A search of PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov on 26/10/2026 found no study in humans, either published or registered.

Nicotinamide N-methyltransferase. It is an enzyme that transfers a methyl group from SAM to nicotinamide.

Indirectly. 5-Amino-1MQ is not NAD+ nor a precursor of it. It inhibits NNMT, an enzyme that removes nicotinamide from the NAD+ recycling pathway. In cultured cells, higher NAD+ levels were measured after the enzyme was inhibited (PMID 29155147).

• Neelakantan H et al. J Med Chem. 2017. PMID 28548833 · DOI 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.7b00389
• Neelakantan H et al. Biochemistry. 2017. PMID 28121423 · DOI 10.1021/acs.biochem.6b01215
• Neelakantan H et al. Biochem Pharmacol. 2018. PMID 29155147 · DOI 10.1016/j.bcp.2017.11.007
• Neelakantan H et al. Biochem Pharmacol. 2019. PMID 30753815 · DOI 10.1016/j.bcp.2019.02.008
• Babula JJ et al. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2024. PMID 39161060 · DOI 10.1111/dom.15879
• Dimet-Wiley AL et al. Sci Rep. 2024. PMID 38969654 · DOI 10.1038/s41598-024-66034-9

An informational text summarising published research. It is not medical advice or usage guidance.