Description
Niacinisawater-solublevitaminoftheBcomplexoccurringinvariousanimalandplanttissues;itisrequiredbythebodyfortheformationofcoenzymesNADandNADP.Niacindisplaysanti-dyslipidemicandcardioprotectiveproperties,althoughvariousstudiesshowmixedbenefitsinvivoandinclinicalsettings.NiacinbindstotheG-proteincoupledreceptor109A(GPR109A),increasingarachidonicacidlevelsandprostaglandinsynthesisandsignaling,resultingincutaneousvasodilationandflushing.NiacindecreasessurfaceexpressionofhepaticATPsynthaseβ,decreasingcatabolismofHDLandincreasingserumHDLlevels.Additionally,niacininhibitshepaticdiacylglycerolacyltransferase-2,inhibitingsynthesisoftriglycerideanddecreasingapolipoproteinB-containinglipoproteins;thisresultsindecreasedsecretionofVLDLandLDL.