What is Niacin? (Vitamin B3)

What is the common dietary denominator facilitating a healthy - Gut, skin (epithelial tissue) and nervous system? These three organs all need Vitamin B3 for their integrity and normal functioning. Oftentimes the word ‘Niacin’ is seen on the nutrition label of certain food products – but how many of us know what function it serves. It’s the little known and rarely appreciated Vitamin B3 – a.k.a. Niacin.

Niacin is also called vitamin PP and nicotinic acid. It is an important water-soluble vitamin of the B complex group. If the need arises, an amino acid, Tryptophan can be converted to Niacin in the liver. This step necessitates daily consumption of the vitamin. If excess of a day’s requirement is consumed, it is not stored in the body but excreted through the urine.

Some of the vital functions of Vitamin B3 in our body are:

• Cell metabolism - Just like Thiamine & Riboflavin (Vitamin B1 & B2) Niacin in 2 distinct forms - co –enzymes NAD & NADP are essential for conversion of the body's proteins, fats, and carbohydrates into usable energy. These coenzymes play an important role in tissue respiration and in glycogen, lipid, amino acid, protein, and purine metabolism. So it acts as a partner in the Krebs cycle or metabolism of food to release energy. It also has a role in manufacture of starch and is stored in liver and muscle as reserve energy.
• Metabolism of fats & lowering of blood cholesterol levels.
  Rather contradictory statements, nevertheless on one hand Niacin plays a rather crucial role in the synthesis of cholesterol in the liver -the fatty acids act as building blocks for cell membranes and other fat containing structures as well as synthesis of many steroid hormones (fat based) and on the other it has successfully helped lower total blood cholesterol levels. The latter is probably with high amounts of supplementation (not exceeding 30 mgs) and is an aspect not related to cholesterol synthesis.