5-Amino-1MQ

Name: 5-Amino-1MQ — Peptide Information
Creator: Michael Carroll
Published: 2026-08-05T01:24:59.38462+00:00

A small-molecule NNMT inhibitor studied in animals for fat loss and NAD+ metabolism.

Written by Michael Carroll — Owner, Director of Research · Reviewed by the Peptide Initiative Research Team · Editorial standards

Weight ManagementResearch compound — not FDA approved

Suggested dose

50 – 150 mg/day

No human dose established

Not established in humans; preclinical rodent data suggest a few hoursHalf-life(compound is membrane-permeable and orally active)

Orally bioavailable in animal studiesBioavailability(high membrane permeability shown by PAMPA and Caco-2 assays); human data not established

159.21 g/molMolecular weight(cation); 286.11 g/mol (iodide salt)

Preclinical onlyEvidence level

Compound profile

5-Amino-1MQ scientific & efficacy data

Weight Management

Peptide profile

Fat and weight reduction7.5

Metabolic markers6.5

NAD+ / cellular energy6.0

Preclinical only

5-Amino-1MQ

50 – 150 mg/day (community-reported, no trial) · No human dose established

Molecular formula

C₁₀H₁₁N₂+ (cation); commonly supplied as the iodide salt (C₁₀H₁₁IN₂)

Mol. weight: 159.21 g/mol (cation); 286.11 g/mol (iodide salt)
CAS number: 42464-96-0 (salt form)
PubChem: 950107
Developed · 2018: Harshini Neelakantan, Stanley J. Watowich, Stanton F. McHardy and colleagues
University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) and University of Texas at San Antonio

Amino acid sequence

Not applicable — 5-Amino-1MQ is a small-molecule NNMT inhibitor (a methylquinolinium compound), not a peptide.

Fat and weight reduction

The strongest animal finding, with its numbers: in 9 diet-induced obese mice treated for 11 days, epididymal white adipose mass fell about 35% (p<0.001) and adipocyte size by more than 30% (p<0.05) against 9 controls, while body weight fell 5.1% in treated mice as controls gained 1.4% [1]. Food intake did not differ between the groups, so the effect was metabolic rather than appetite-driven [1]. Mice, 11 days, nine animals — strong for what it is, and unproven in humans.

Metabolic markers

Total plasma cholesterol was about 30% lower in treated mice than controls (p<0.05), bringing it in line with the vendor's figures for age-matched normal-chow mice [1]. A second mouse study reported improvements in insulin, glucose tolerance, triglycerides and liver fat [2]. No human measurement of any of these exists for this compound.

NAD+ / cellular energy

The mechanism is well characterised in cells: blocking NNMT cuts production of 1-MNA and raises intracellular NAD+ and SAM, with an EC50 of 2.3 ± 1.1 µM in cultured adipocytes [1]. It is selective — no inhibition of DNMT1, PRMT3, NAMPT or SIRT1 at tested concentrations [1]. That the mechanism works in a dish is not the same as a benefit in a person.

Dosing

How much 5-Amino-1MQ do I take?

50 – 150 mg/day · once daily, per community protocols

Undefined — no human study has run any duration

50 – 150 mg/day

Once daily, per community protocols

Full 5-Amino-1MQ dosing protocol 5-Amino-1MQ dosing calculator

Covers timing · dose-adjustment guidance.

Suitability

Is 5-Amino-1MQ right for me?

Best for fat loss (research context) & metabolic health support

Best for

Fat loss research

The clearest, most repeated finding: obese mice lost body weight and fat mass on 5-Amino-1MQ without eating less [1][2]. This is the main reason people are interested — though it is animal data, not human proof.

Metabolic health support

In mice, it improved blood sugar, insulin, and liver fat [2]. Researchers see NNMT inhibition as a promising angle for metabolic syndrome [4].

NAD+ and cellular energy science

By blocking NNMT, it raises NAD+ and SAM inside cells, which supports how cells make and use energy [1][4]. This makes it interesting to people studying aging and metabolism.

Consider alternatives if

Proven weight loss in humansGLP-1 medications like semaglutide or tirzepatide (FDA-approved and studied in humans), Mazdutide (advanced human trials)

Raising NAD+ levelsNMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide), NR (nicotinamide riboside)

Do not use if

You are pregnant or breastfeedingYou take an MAO inhibitorYou want only treatments proven safe and effective in humans

Use with caution if

You take SSRIs or other serotonergic medications [2]You have any chronic medical conditionYou take prescription medications of any kindYou have a history of blood pressure problems

Not sure?

Compare 5-Amino-1MQ with similar peptides to find the best fit for your goals.

5-Amino-1MQ vs Semaglutide 5-Amino-1MQ vs Tirzepatide 5-Amino-1MQ vs Retatrutide

Administration

How do I use 5-Amino-1MQ?

Subcutaneous injection · Oral capsule

Route

Oral capsule is the most common community route; subcutaneous injection was used in animal studies [1][2]

Best sites

Abdomen (subcutaneous, if injected)Upper thigh (subcutaneous, if injected)

5-Amino-1MQ dosing protocol 5-Amino-1MQ injection guide

Covers reconstitution · step-by-step technique · storage.

Safety

Is 5-Amino-1MQ safe?

2 common side effects · 2 serious

The honest picture: nobody has run a human safety trial on 5-Amino-1MQ, so everything below is from mice and cultured cells.

In the 11-day mouse study, 9 treated animals lost 2.0 ± 0.6 g of body weight (about 5.1% from baseline) while 9 controls gained 0.6 ± 0.4 g, with no difference in food intake and no observable adverse effects reported [1].

The tolerability ceiling people quote comes from a dose-escalation study spanning 10 to 150 mg/kg/day in TWO mice, where 60 mg/kg/day produced no observable adverse effects [1] — a denominator worth seeing before treating it as a safety margin.

In cultured pre-adipocytes the compound is cytotoxic at high concentration: no effect on viability at 10 µM, modest cytotoxicity from 100 to 300 µM, and roughly 40% loss of viability at 600 µM [1]. Lab screening also found off-target inhibition of monoamine oxidase-A at higher concentrations [2].

Short studies in mice cannot rule out problems that appear over months or years in people. Treat this as an experimental compound and talk to a doctor first, particularly if you take any medication.

All safety information is preclinical.

The absence of human data here was checked rather than assumed: PubMed has no record under "5-amino-1MQ" and no clinical study of any NNMT inhibitor in people, ClinicalTrials.gov has no registered study of either the compound or the target, and no company has announced a clinical programme.

The EU and WHO trial registries were not searched directly, so a trial registered only outside the US cannot be ruled out.

The main mouse study gave 20 mg/kg per subcutaneous injection three times daily — about 34 mg/kg/day — to 9 diet-induced obese mice for 11 days, against 9 saline controls [1]; a second used 10-32 mg/kg once daily for about a month [2].

Those are animal doses and do not convert to human milligram doses. Note one discrepancy worth knowing if you read around: secondary write-ups describe the mouse study as drinking-water dosing at about 40 mg/kg/day.

The primary paper, read in full, describes subcutaneous injection at 20 mg/kg three times daily [1].

On selectivity, the compound did not inhibit DNMT1, PRMT3, NAMPT or SIRT1 at tested concentrations, and inhibited COMT only 10% at 600 µM [1] — a clean NNMT inhibitor at relevant concentrations, with the MAO-A signal appearing at higher ones [2].

Human pharmacokinetics, long-term safety and an effective human dose are all unknown. Note also that this is a small molecule, not a peptide — it is catalogued here because people ask about it alongside peptides.

Less common

Fatigue or flushing (community-reported)

These typically resolve with continued use or dose adjustment.

Common side effects · experienced by some users

No verified human side effects
Because no human trials have been run, there is no verified list of common side effects. In animal studies, mice showed no obvious adverse effects at the doses tested [1][2].
Management: Understand that safety in people is unknown. Track how you feel and stop if anything feels wrong.
Mild nausea or headache (community-reported)
Some people using it outside of studies mention mild stomach upset or headache. This is anecdotal and not confirmed by any trial.
Management: Take with food, lower the dose, or stop. Talk to a doctor if it persists.

Stop and seek help if

Any severe or unexpected symptom
Signs of a reaction to MAO-A effects such as severe headache, racing heart, or spiking blood pressure [2]
Persistent nausea, headache, or fatigue
You start a medication affected by MAO-A
You become pregnant or are breastfeeding

This is an experimental research compound with no human safety data. This information is educational and not medical advice. Talk to a qualified healthcare provider before using it and before stopping any prescribed medication.

With other peptides

Safe:NAD+ precursors (NMN, NR) — Community users sometimes stack these to support NAD+; the combination has never been tested in humans [1]

With medications

Caution:MAO inhibitors — Avoid. The compound inhibited monoamine oxidase-A in lab screening, so combining could compound MAO-blocking effects [2]
Caution:SSRIs / serotonergic drugs — Use caution due to theoretical off-target MAO-A activity [2]
Caution:Drugs metabolized via MAO pathways — Discuss with a doctor before combining

With supplements

Safe:NMN or NR — Community-reported pairing to support NAD+; unstudied together in humans
Safe:Tyramine-rich foods/supplements — Theoretical caution alongside possible MAO-A inhibition [2]

Effectiveness

How do I know 5-Amino-1MQ is working?

Preclinical only · first signs weeks 1-2

Evidence level

Preclinical only

(animal and lab studies; no human trials)

Regulatory status

Research compound — not FDA approved

Onset of effects

Not established in humans; gradual over weeks in animal studies

How it works

Imagine your fat cells have a drain that slowly lets out the fuel they need to burn energy.

That drain is an enzyme called NNMT. 5-Amino-1MQ plugs the drain. With the drain plugged, the cell keeps more fuel (NAD+) and burns fat instead of storing it [1]. In mice, this led to less body fat and smaller fat cells [1].

The deeper mechanism

NNMT (nicotinamide N-methyltransferase) transfers a methyl group from SAM (S-adenosylmethionine) onto nicotinamide, producing 1-methylnicotinamide (1-MNA) and SAH (S-adenosylhomocysteine).

This single reaction pulls from two systems at once: it consumes nicotinamide, a building block your cells recycle into NAD+ through the salvage pathway, and it burns through SAM, the cell's main methyl-group currency [4].

When NNMT runs fast in fat tissue, NAD+ and SAM stay low and energy expenditure drops. 5-Amino-1MQ is a nicotinamide look-alike that competitively binds NNMT's active site, so the enzyme cannot process its normal target [4].

In cultured fat cells this lowered 1-MNA and raised both NAD+ and SAM, which suppressed the building of new fat [1].

Importantly, the methylquinolinium scaffold is highly selective — it does not block related SAM-dependent methyltransferases or the NAD+ salvage enzymes — and it crosses cell membranes well, which is unusual for this class [1].

One caveat from later work: at higher lab concentrations the compound also inhibited monoamine oxidase-A, an off-target effect worth watching [2].

What to expect

Weeks 1-2
What you might notice
- Likely nothing obvious
- In mice, changes built up gradually rather than overnight [1]
- No human timeline has been studied
What's normal
- Feeling no different early on is expected
- This is not a fast-acting stimulant
What's next
- Focus on tolerating the compound and watching for any side effects
Weeks 3-6
What you might notice
- Community users hope to notice gradual body-composition changes
- In animal studies, fat and weight reductions appeared over weeks of dosing [1][2]
What's normal
- Slow, steady change (if any) rather than dramatic shifts
- Any effect in humans is unproven
What's next
- Reassess how you feel and whether to continue
- Keep diet and activity consistent so you can judge honestly
Weeks 7-12
What you might notice
- This is where longer animal studies showed the fullest effects on fat mass and metabolic markers [2]
- Human results at this stage are unknown
What's normal
- A full cycle in community protocols runs roughly 8-12 weeks
What's next
- Take a break and reassess
- There is no evidence on safe long-term continuous use in humans

Signs it's working

Physical Response Indicators

Gradual body-fat reduction (seen in mice; unproven in humans) [1]
Changes in waist or body measurements over weeks
No drop in appetite — animal fat loss happened without eating less [1]

Subjective Changes

Community users report a sense of steadier energy (anecdotal, not verified)
No validated subjective markers exist for this compound in humans

Measurable Markers (if tested)

In mice: lower fasting insulin and better glucose tolerance [2]
In mice: reduced triglycerides and liver fat [2]
In humans, any bloodwork changes would need a doctor to interpret and are not established

Not seeing results? Common reasons

Expecting fast results — animal changes were gradual over weeks [1]
No human dose is established, so a chosen dose may simply be too low or ineffective
Diet and activity not held steady, making any effect impossible to judge
Product quality varies widely for research compounds; purity is not guaranteed
The compound may simply not work the same way in humans as in mice

Key research

2018[1]

“Selective and membrane-permeable small molecule inhibitors of nicotinamide N-methyltransferase reverse high fat diet-induced obesity in mice”Neelakantan H, Vance V, Wetzel MD, Wang HL, McHardy SF, Finnerty CC, Hommel JD, Watowich SJFinding: The foundational study. In diet-induced obese mice, 5-amino-1MQ at 20 mg/kg given three times daily for 11 days significantly reduced body weight and white fat mass, shrank fat cells, and lowered plasma cholesterol, with no change in food intake and no observable adverse effects. The compound was highly selective for NNMT and membrane-permeable. Published in Biochemical Pharmacology, volume 147, pages 141-152.View study

2024[2]

“Nicotinamide N-methyltransferase Inhibition Mitigates Obesity-Related Metabolic Dysfunctions”Babula JJ, Bui D, Stevenson HL, Watowich SJ, Neelakantan HFinding: In diet-induced obese mice, 5-amino-1MQ at 10 or 32 mg/kg once daily by subcutaneous injection for 28-30 days dose-dependently suppressed weight gain, lowered fasting insulin, improved oral glucose tolerance, reduced triglycerides, and cut liver fat (hepatic steatosis) by up to 73% at the high dose while normalizing liver enzymes. No serious adverse effects; off-target screening showed the compound inhibited monoamine oxidase-A at 10 micromolar. Published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, volume 26, issue 11.View study

2022[3]

“Reduced calorie diet combined with NNMT inhibition establishes a distinct microbiome in DIO mice”Dimet-Wiley A, Wu Q, Wiley JT, Eswar A, Neelakantan H, Savidge T, Watowich SJFinding: In obese mice, combining a reduced-calorie diet with 5-amino-1MQ (32 mg/kg by subcutaneous injection) produced body weight and fat mass indistinguishable from lean control animals — better than diet change alone — and shifted the gut microbiome, increasing Lactobacillus. Published in Scientific Reports.View study

2024[4]

“Nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT): a novel therapeutic target for metabolic syndrome”Sun WD, Zhu XJ, Li JJ, et al.Finding: A review explaining how NNMT methylates nicotinamide using SAM to make 1-methylnicotinamide, depleting NAD+ precursors and raising homocysteine. It describes 5-amino-1MQ as a nicotinamide analog that competitively inhibits NNMT, is highly selective, and reversed obesity in high-fat-diet mice by raising NAD+ and lowering fat mass. Published in Frontiers in Pharmacology, volume 15, article 1410479.View study

2024[5]

“PubChem Compound Summary: 5-Amino-1-methylquinolinium (CID 950107)”National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)Finding: Official chemical database record confirming the identity and structure of 5-amino-1-methylquinolinium: molecular formula C10H11N2+ (cation), molecular weight 159.21 g/mol, PubChem CID 950107, salt CAS 42464-96-0.View study

Questions

Frequently asked about 5-Amino-1MQ

Is 5-Amino-1MQ actually a peptide?

No. Despite being sold alongside peptides, 5-Amino-1MQ is a small chemical molecule (a methylquinolinium compound), not a peptide made of amino acids. It works by blocking an enzyme called NNMT [4].

Has 5-Amino-1MQ been tested in humans?

No. Every published study is in mice or lab dishes [1][2][3]. There are no human clinical trials, so its effects and safety in people are unknown.

How does it help with fat loss?

In fat cells, an enzyme called NNMT wastes molecules (NAD+ and SAM) your cells use to burn energy. 5-Amino-1MQ blocks NNMT, so cells keep more of that fuel and lean toward burning fat instead of storing it. In obese mice this led to less body fat without the animals eating less [1].

What dose do people use?

There is no proven human dose. Community protocols commonly cite 50-150 mg per day by mouth, but that is not backed by any human study. Animal studies used 10-32 mg/kg by injection, which does not convert directly to a human pill dose [1][2].

Are there any safety concerns?

The biggest concern is simply that human safety is unknown. Lab screening also found it can block monoamine oxidase-A (MAO-A) at higher concentrations, so it should not be combined with MAO inhibitors and should be used cautiously with serotonergic drugs or tyramine-rich foods [2]. Talk to a doctor first.

Ready for the protocol?

Every dosing tier, administration route, timing note, and dose-adjustment rule for 5-Amino-1MQ, on one page.

5-Amino-1MQ dosing protocol

Peptide Database