Nicotinamide Riboside Powder: A Buyer's Guide to NR Salt Forms

Nicotinamide riboside (NR) powders are commonly supplied as named salts: NR chloride, NR hydrogen malate or NR tartrate. They share the NR cation, while the counter-ion and composition identify the material on the purchase order. Start with the exact salt and CAS, then compare the assay basis and lot documents. PathGene supplies all three as solid powders; the NR series uses chemical synthesis.

Compare NR chloride, hydrogen malate and tartrate powders

Each of these PathGene products lists a 1 kg raw-material MOQ. Follow the product links for its current purity specification, pack options, batch COA and sample information; the same family name does not make the three salts interchangeable.

Nicotinamide Riboside is the ingredient family; the salt name identifies the supplied solid

A procurement brief may ask for Nicotinamide Riboside (NR), while supplier quotations list NR chloride, NR hydrogen malate or NR tartrate. These names describe different salt forms built around the nicotinamide riboside cation. The counter-ion and exact composition are part of the raw material being purchased, tested and shipped.

NR has a positively charged pyridinium nitrogen. In common commercial solids, a counter-ion balances that charge and allows the material to be isolated as a defined crystalline salt. Published work has characterized crystalline NR chloride as well as NR hydrogen malate and NR hydrogen tartrate. This explains why “NR powder” alone is not a complete purchase specification. It does not mean every salt has the same composition or storage performance. Schabert et al., Molecules (2021).

Why can a supplier recommend a particular NR salt?

A recommendation may reflect the grade a supplier routinely makes, an existing product specification, a buyer’s target formulation, manufacturing and quality controls, or the documentation available for the destination market. Ask which reason applies and request evidence for any claimed advantage. A salt name on its own does not show that the material is more stable, easier to formulate or suitable for a particular market.

The published NRHM ratio is specific to the study material. Likewise, a database name is an identity clue rather than proof that a supplier’s batch has the same form. Compare each offered grade with its specification and batch certificate.

How should procurement compare quotations?

1. Specify the salt. Put the full chemical name, CAS number and any required stereochemical or hydration form on the inquiry and purchase specification.
2. Normalize the amount of NR. Ask whether the assay is reported as total salt or NR moiety, whether the value is “as is” or dry basis, and how water and counter-ion content are treated. Compare price per agreed NR-equivalent amount only when the calculation inputs are documented.
3. Review the actual solid. Compare identity, assay, moisture, impurity profile, appearance and any particle-size or density values needed by the process. Test the sample in the intended formulation.
4. Read stability data in context. Request the grade, lot or study material, packaging, temperature, humidity, duration and analytical method. Stability measured in solution is not automatically evidence of dry-powder shelf life, and results for one salt should not be transferred to another.
5. Qualify the supply. Confirm the manufacturing or sourcing route, production site, change-control process, available documents, sample plan, packaging and destination-market review.

NR chloride, NRC powder and CAS 23111-00-4

Nicotinamide riboside chloride, NR chloride and NRC powder are names buyers may use for the chloride material. Specify CAS 23111-00-4 on the inquiry. “NR powder” describes a broader family and should not silently substitute for a specified salt. The chloride identity and CAS are also recorded in the 2019 EFSA scientific opinion; that identity reference does not establish that every supplier or intended use has market access.

Read an NRC batch certificate without mixing purity and assay

PathGene batch PGNRC-260803, produced on 3 August 2026, lists chloride CAS 23111-00-4, purity 99.65%, assay 99.2% and water 0.5%. These are separate reported results for one batch, not interchangeable measures or guaranteed future-lot values. Its identification item checks the HPLC main-peak retention time against a reference.

Before comparing bulk quotations, ask for the assay method, reference standard and calculation basis, including whether the result measures the total salt or the NR moiety. The certificate alone should not be used to invent an NR-equivalent conversion. Ask for the offered lot's storage statement, packaging, sample availability, MOQ and delivery schedule, and check it against your formulation and destination requirements.

Does salt formation make NR powder stable?

Salt formation provides a defined ionic material that can be isolated and supplied as a solid powder. It is a practical reason buyers encounter named NR salts in bulk sourcing. But “salt” is not a universal stability guarantee. Water content, crystal or hydrate form, temperature, packaging, time and the test method all matter. The 2021 crystalline-salt study includes stability experiments under specified solution conditions; those results should not be presented as a blanket ranking of commercial dry powders.

The practical answer is: commercial NR powders are commonly specified and purchased as salts, and each offered salt must be qualified as its own raw material. The shared NR cation connects the family; the counter-ion, composition and evidence define the purchasable grade.

Buyer’s takeaway

When a project asks for Nicotinamide Riboside, first decide whether its specification calls for chloride, hydrogen malate or tartrate. Then compare the exact forms on a documented NR-equivalent basis and review each grade’s batch evidence. There is no universal salt winner based only on the counter-ion name.

The comparison table above links to the current specifications for all three PathGene NR salts. For additional formulation considerations, read the NR chloride vs hydrogen malate formulation comparison. Product suitability and regulatory status depend on the exact material, intended use and market.

References

• Schabert G, et al. New Crystalline Salts of Nicotinamide Riboside as Food Additives. Molecules. 2021;26(9):2729. doi:10.3390/molecules26092729.
• Dziwenka M, Mozingo A. Preclinical safety assessments of nicotinamide riboside hydrogen malate. Toxicology Research and Application. 2022. doi:10.1177/23978473221108881. Its composition and findings refer to the specific test material and study conditions.
• PubChem: Nicotinamide riboside tartrate, CAS 2415657-86-0. Chemical-identity reference.