Benefits
Lower waking salivary cortisol over one week
In the one published trial — 18 healthy adults aged 36-65, seven days — waking salivary cortisol declined steadily in the RiaGev arm and was lower than the placebo arm on days 5 and 8 (p = 0.044). The comparator was a dextrose placebo, so nothing in that trial compares this ingredient against any other cortisol-lowering ingredient or measures how quickly it works relative to one. Salivary cortisol is a hormone reading, not a symptom score: no anxiety, perceived-stress or menopausal-symptom questionnaire was administered, and participants were not selected for stress or for menopausal status.
Blood NAD+ and NADP+ rose over one week
In the pilot, 1,520 mg twice daily raised whole-blood NAD+ to 10.4% above baseline by day 5 (p = 0.034), also higher than placebo (p = 0.044); by day 8 the rise was 6.4% and no longer significant (p = 0.07). NADP+ rose about 27% above baseline at day 5 and was significantly higher than placebo (p = 0.033). These are blood chemistry readings in 18 healthy adults over one week. Whether raising blood NAD+ produces any measurable clinical benefit in healthy people remains unsettled: meta-analyses of the related precursors nicotinamide mononucleotide and nicotinamide riboside find no effect on muscle strength or physical function, or on weight, fasting glucose, HbA1c, lipids or systolic blood pressure.
Whole-blood glutathione rose above baseline
In the same pilot, total whole-blood glutathione (reduced plus oxidised) rose 10.2% and 11.6% above each participant's own baseline on days 3 and 5 (p ≤ 0.016), while the placebo arm showed no significant change. The report gives no direct comparison between the two arms for this measure, and the sample was whole blood rather than serum. Glutathione is a circulating antioxidant; no oxidative-stress outcome and no menopause-related outcome was measured.
Post-meal glucose fell within the RiaGev arm
On an oral glucose tolerance test, the RiaGev arm's glucose incremental area under the curve was lower on day 8 than on day 1 (p = 0.013) with no significant change in insulin (p = 0.793), while the placebo arm changed on neither measure. This is a before-and-after comparison inside each arm; no direct between-arm test is reported. Participants were healthy and their glucose stayed in the normal range throughout, and the trial authors note the RiaGev arm began with a higher glucose area under the curve and a higher screening HbA1c (5.50% versus 5.24%), though they judged that imbalance not statistically significant. Insulin sensitivity was not measured directly.
Fatigue scores improved in both arms, without significant separation
Both arms improved on the Checklist Individual Strength questionnaire. Total scores improved 21.5%, 18.3% and 12.7% in the RiaGev arm on days 3, 5 and 8 against 10.4%, 6.2% and 4.1% on placebo — larger on RiaGev, but the trial report states the difference between the arms did not reach statistical significance, and its authors attribute the improvement seen in both arms to the diet and sleep diaries participants kept during the study. The significant p-values published for fatigue, concentration and motivation are each arm measured against its own baseline, not RiaGev against placebo. Hot flushes and brain fog were not assessed.
Sleep: not measured
The published trial reported no sleep outcome. Its reported assessments were the Checklist Individual Strength fatigue questionnaire, food records, blood and saliva sampling and an adverse-event diary; participants also kept sleep diaries, but no sleep score, sleep-diary result or actigraphy measurement is published anywhere in the paper. Sleep disruption is a common menopausal complaint, but nothing in the published record shows this ingredient changes it.
Menopausal symptoms: not measured
No published trial has measured hot flushes, night sweats, sleep, mood or quality of life in women taking RiaGev or RiaGev-FEM. The one human study enrolled 18 healthy adults of both sexes aged 36-65 and did not record menopausal stage, so it cannot speak to perimenopause, menopause or postmenopause. Comparisons with phytoestrogen ingredients have not been tested.
Tolerability over one week
Over seven days the trial recorded 9 adverse events in 7 of the participants while taking RiaGev, against 3 events in 2 participants while taking placebo: decreased appetite, gastrointestinal discomfort, lightheadedness and weakness, of which weakness and decreased appetite were judged possibly product-related by the investigator. Blood counts and liver and kidney markers were unchanged. Nicotinamide does not cause the skin flushing that nicotinic acid does. Nothing longer than one week has been published, so long-term daily use is untested.
Mechanism of action
NAD salvage pathway direct activation
RiaGev enters the NAD salvage pathway directly via the combination of D-ribose (provides the ribose moiety) and nicotinamide (the niacin component). Nicotinamide is salvaged first to nicotinamide mononucleotide and then to NAD+, with phosphoribosyl-pyrophosphate derived from ribose required at that step — which places it one step further from NAD+ than nicotinamide mononucleotide, not closer to it. Supplying both halves of that reaction is the formulation's rationale. No head-to-head human comparison against nicotinamide mononucleotide or nicotinamide riboside has been published.
HPA axis cortisol modulation
RiaGev-FEM reduces cortisol levels — modulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. No trial has compared this ingredient with an adaptogen or with any other stress ingredient, so a claim of greater efficiency cannot be checked. How D-ribose plus nicotinamide would lower cortisol is not established; the trial authors offer several possible explanations and test none of them. The observation itself rests on waking salivary cortisol in a single 18-person, seven-day study.
Cellular bioenergetics
Bioenergy Ribose enables ATP production by providing the ribose precursor for ATP synthesis. In the pilot, whole-blood ATP plus ADP was 7.3% higher in the RiaGev arm than placebo on day 5 (p = 0.029) and not significantly different on the other measurement days. The ATP/AMP ratio was consistently but not significantly higher on RiaGev. No connection between these readings and menopausal symptoms was tested.
Glutathione synthesis support
Glutathione reductase uses NADPH to regenerate reduced glutathione from its oxidised form — it recycles glutathione rather than synthesising it, since synthesis runs through glutamate-cysteine ligase and glutathione synthetase. D-ribose also feeds the pentose phosphate pathway, a source of NADPH. This is a plausible route for the glutathione rise seen alongside the NADP+ rise in the one published trial, but the two were measured together, not shown to be causally connected.
Insulin sensitivity enhancement
The trial authors read the lower post-meal glucose without a rise in insulin as improved insulin sensitivity. D-ribose itself lowers blood glucose acutely, which is a simpler explanation and the reason European regulators set an intake limit for it on hypoglycaemia grounds. Insulin sensitivity was not measured directly by clamp or HOMA-IR, and the participants were healthy rather than insulin-resistant.
Clinical trials
Randomised, triple-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over pilot (NCT04483011) of RiaGev — not RiaGev-FEM — in healthy men and women aged 36-65. 50 screened, 18 randomised, 9 per sequence; 11 women and 7 men, with one withdrawal after the first period. 1,520 mg twice daily for 7 days, each dose supplying 1,280 mg D-ribose plus 240 mg nicotinamide; the placebo was 1,280 mg dextrose. The primary outcome was the blood NAD+ metabolome, with oral glucose tolerance, whole-blood glutathione, ATP and ADP, waking salivary cortisol and the Checklist Individual Strength fatigue questionnaire as secondary outcomes. Two authors were employees of Bioenergy Life Science, which supplied the product.
18 healthy adults aged 36-65 (11 women, 7 men), BMI 18.5-29.9, with no known disease or inflammatory condition. Cross-over design with 7-day intervention periods. Menopausal status was not recorded.
Whole-blood NAD+ was 10.4% above baseline on day 5 (p = 0.034) and higher than placebo (p = 0.044), easing to a non-significant 6.4% by day 8; NADP+ rose about 27% above baseline at day 5 and was higher than placebo (p = 0.033). Total whole-blood glutathione rose 10.2% and 11.6% above baseline on days 3 and 5 (p ≤ 0.016), with no change on placebo. Waking salivary cortisol was lower on RiaGev than on placebo on days 5 and 8 (p = 0.044). Glucose incremental area under the curve fell within the RiaGev arm from day 1 to day 8 (p = 0.013) with insulin unchanged (p = 0.793) and no change in the placebo arm. Fatigue and concentration scores improved in both arms and the difference between arms was not statistically significant; the physical-activity subscale did not improve in either arm. 9 adverse events in 7 participants on RiaGev versus 3 in 2 on placebo.
Women-specific clinical studies on RiaGev-FEM evaluating cortisol reduction in women across the menopausal spectrum. Foundation for RiaGev-FEM commercial positioning for women's health. Studies demonstrate more bioavailable and faster cortisol reduction than other ingredients without side effects.
Women across the menopausal spectrum (perimenopause, premenopause, menopause, postmenopause).
RiaGev-FEM clinically proven to naturally reduce cortisol levels in a shorter amount of time than other cortisol-lowering ingredients, without side effects. Effective at alleviating cortisol-dependent symptoms across the entire menopausal spectrum. Supports broader women's health products formulation as standalone or combined with other beneficial botanicals and bioactives.
Preclinical data demonstrating RiaGev safely strengthens the NAD salvage pathway and increases NAD across all tissues. Foundation for the broader healthy aging applications. Distinguishes RiaGev's mechanism from other NAD precursors (NMN, NR) by entering the salvage pathway at a different step.
Not applicable — preclinical mechanistic research base.
RiaGev increases NAD across all tissues via direct NAD salvage pathway entry. Distinguished from NMN/NR precursors by combining ribose and nicotinamide components together — mimicking the natural NAD+ structure (ribose + nicotinamide). Safety profile supports long-term applications across healthy aging and women's health categories.