5-Amino-1MQ

What it is

5-Amino-1MQ is a small-molecule NNMT inhibitor, not a peptide — despite being sold on peptide sites alongside GLP-1 and other research compounds, it's a simple methylquinolinium chemical, not a chain of amino acids. It's worth flagging that difference because the biology and the (absent) safety data are quite different from studied peptides.

It was designed by academic researchers (notably a group at UTMB/Vanderbilt) as a tool to test whether blocking the enzyme NNMT could treat obesity and metabolic disease. It is sold strictly 'for laboratory research use only' and is not an approved drug, supplement, or medicine.

Almost everything known about it comes from cell cultures and mice. There is no established human dose, no FDA review, and no published human clinical trial confirming it does anything in people.

How it works

NNMT (nicotinamide N-methyltransferase) is an enzyme that's overactive in the fat tissue of obese, diabetic animals. It burns through two important cellular resources — nicotinamide (a building block of NAD+, the cell's energy-currency molecule) and SAM (a methyl donor). 5-Amino-1MQ slips into fat cells and blocks NNMT, which in lab studies lets NAD+ and SAM levels rise again.

In theory, more available NAD+ means fat cells can burn fuel more efficiently and build less new fat. In mouse and cell studies this translated to smaller fat cells and reduced fat storage without the animals eating less. Whether the same chain of events happens meaningfully in humans is unproven.

What people research it for

What the research actually shows

The foundational work is Kraus et al. (Nature, 2014), showing that knocking down NNMT in fat and liver protected mice from diet-induced obesity by raising cellular energy expenditure. This established NNMT as a metabolic target but used genetic silencing, not a drug.

The key drug study is Neelakantan et al. (Biochemical Pharmacology, 2018), which gave 5-Amino-1MQ to high-fat-diet obese mice (20 mg/kg subcutaneously, three times daily for 11 days). Treated mice lost body weight and fat mass, had smaller fat cells and lower cholesterol, with no change in food intake and no reported adverse effects in that short study. A 2022 Scientific Reports paper extended this with newer NNMT inhibitors and showed reduced liver fat.

Crucially, human data is essentially absent — there are no published, peer-reviewed human clinical trials of 5-Amino-1MQ demonstrating weight loss or safety. Everything above is mouse and cell-culture evidence.

Research handling & storage

In research settings 5-Amino-1MQ is usually handled as a powder or oral capsule (vendors often sell capsules), though the pivotal mouse study injected it subcutaneously. Because it's a defined small molecule, it's generally more stable than peptides, but sellers typically advise a cool, dry, dark location and keeping it sealed away from moisture.

It's supplied as a research chemical, so purity, dosing, and formulation are not standardized or verified by any regulator. Any product should be treated as an unverified research material, not a consumer supplement.

Safety & cautions

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Neelakantan et al., 2018 — NNMT inhibitors reverse diet-induced obesity in mice (Biochem Pharmacol, PMID 29155147)
• Kraus et al., 2014 — NNMT knockdown protects against diet-induced obesity (Nature)
• Novel tricyclic NNMT inhibitors for metabolic disorders, 2022 (Scientific Reports)
• NNMT: a novel therapeutic target for metabolic syndrome — review, 2024 (Frontiers in Pharmacology / PMC)

Last reviewed 2026-07-07. This guide is educational and research-focused — not medical advice. 5-Amino-1MQ products referenced on PeptidePub are sold by third parties as materials for laboratory research use only, not for human or animal consumption.

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