Translations:Nicotinamide/20/en

Biochemistry

The active Nicotinamide group on the molecule NAD⁺ undergoes oxidation in many metabolic pathways.

Nicotinamide, as a part of the cofactor nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH / NAD⁺) is crucial to life. In cells, nicotinamide is incorporated into NAD⁺ and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP⁺). NAD⁺ and NADP⁺ are cofactors in a wide variety of enzymatic oxidation-reduction reactions, most notably glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, and the electron transport chain. If humans ingest nicotinamide, it will likely undergo a series of reactions that transform it into NAD, which can then undergo a transformation to form NADP⁺. This method of creation of NAD⁺ is called a salvage pathway. However, the human body can produce NAD⁺ from the amino acid tryptophan and niacin without our ingestion of nicotinamide.