For thousands of years, Old Tjikko did not always look like a normal upright tree. During colder periods it survived as a low shrub beneath the snow, while warmer conditions allowed new upright trunks to grow.

Trigonelline is a methylated form of niacin and is a recently isolated molecule that could be the secret ingredient in your stack. This form of the B vitamin is involved in the generation of NAD+, a cofactor for over 500 metabolic processes in cells. Trigonelline promotes cellular repair and energy, and as we’ll see, exerts quite a few benefits that are specifically useful for anyone training seriously.

Trigonelline is found in several plant-based foods, notably coffee beans and fenugreek seeds. Green coffee beans contain trigonelline concentrations ranging from 0.6% to 1.0% by weight. However, traditional dietary sources don’t provide sufficient amounts to elicit significant physiological effects. For instance, the average trigonelline content in a cup of coffee is approximately 53 mg, and about 50-80% of trigonelline decomposes during the roasting process, leaving virtually nothing for your body to make use of.

Recent research published on this naturally occurring alkaloid highlights its potential in enhancing muscle function and combating age-related decline. A 2024 study published in Nature Metabolism identified trigonelline as a novel precursor to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), a molecule essential for energy metabolism and mitochondrial function. The study demonstrated that trigonelline supplementation improved muscle strength and reduced fatigue in aged mice, suggesting that it can head off the natural muscle decline seen in aging, even in those who are already training at capacity.

NAD+ gets discussed a lot in the longevity space because of its natural and steep decline over the years, tied to all the diseases of aging. It's a metabolic linchpin that determines how efficiently your cells convert fuel into usable energy. For athletes, that efficiency translates into faster recovery, better performance under load, and greater resilience under metabolic stress. Or, you know, complete lack of those things if you don’t have enough of it.

NAD+ is required for redox (oxidation–reduction) reactions in mitochondrial energy production and is a cofactor and substrate for longevity-promoting sirtuins and other enzymes involved in muscle repair and adaptation. During intense physical activity, NAD+ levels drop as demand for ATP surges. Replenishing intracellular NAD+ is critical not only for restoring mitochondrial output but also for initiating the cellular programs that rebuild and reinforce muscle tissue [1].

Trigonelline offers a direct path to NAD+—one that bypasses the liver and supports muscle tissue specifically. In a landmark 2024 study, researchers at EPFL and Nestlé Health Sciences (yes, that Nestlé, but there aren’t any conflicts of interest, we checked) demonstrated that trigonelline functions as a previously unidentified NAD+ precursor, rapidly taken up by skeletal muscle cells and converted into NAD+ via a salvage pathway independent of the traditional NR or NMN routes [2]. This muscle-specific uptake is particularly important for athletes, who require localized replenishment in the very tissues under stress.

Most NAD+ precursors—including nicotinamide riboside (NR) and nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN)—undergo hepatic metabolism before entering systemic circulation. This creates a bottleneck at your liver for targeted muscle repair. Trigonelline appears to bypass that constraint by delivering precursors directly where they're needed most: the muscle fibers responsible for performance and endurance.

This shift in delivery has implications beyond simple NAD+ restoration. In the same Nature Metabolism study, aged mice supplemented with trigonelline showed significant improvements in grip strength and fatigue resistance—outcomes tightly linked to muscle NAD+ availability. Unlike systemic precursors that may elevate circulating NAD+ levels without improving localized bioenergetics, trigonelline drives changes in muscle mitochondrial density and function.

For athletes, this is the difference between feeling recovered and actually being rebuilt.

Mitochondria Make Muscles Move

Endurance Starts in the Electron Transport Chain

Every sprint, every lift, every set depends on one thing: mitochondrial output. The ability to generate ATP on demand—efficiently and cleanly—is the defining line between sustained power and early fatigue. Trigonelline’s value lies not just in elevating NAD+ levels, but in what that elevation enables at the level of mitochondrial performance.

NAD+ drives oxidative phosphorylation, the mitochondrial pathway responsible for converting nutrients into ATP. When NAD+ is depleted, electron transport slows, reactive oxygen species accumulate, and mitochondrial output tanks—resulting in performance collapse and prolonged recovery. Replenishing NAD+ restores mitochondrial throughput, enhances metabolic flexibility, and allows cells to switch between carbohydrate and fat oxidation with minimal friction [3].

Trigonelline’s role as a direct NAD+ precursor in muscle tissue makes it especially powerful in this context. By bypassing hepatic metabolism and restoring NAD+ where it's most needed, it kickstarts mitochondrial biogenesis—activating pathways like PGC-1α that drive the formation of new mitochondria and increase the efficiency of existing ones [4]. This isn’t theoretical: in the 2024 Nature Metabolism study, trigonelline supplementation significantly boosted mitochondrial content and activity in aged mice, restoring performance metrics typically lost with age and overtraining [2].

This cellular shift translates directly to the field, the track, and the gym. More mitochondria means more ATP per unit of oxygen consumed. This is the underpinning of higher VO₂ max, improved lactate clearance, and extended time-to-exhaustion. Trigonelline supports this adaptation at the source, which means athletes can train harder, go longer, and bounce back faster—without relying on stimulants or sketchy ergogenics.

More NAD+ in muscle equals better mitochondrial kinetics, which equals better athletic output. Period.

Strength and Muscle Health

Preserving Power, Not Just Mass

Strength isn’t only about size—it’s about contractile quality, neuromuscular precision, and the cellular capacity to resist breakdown under stress. Trigonelline’s impact on muscle tissue reaches beyond endurance. It supports structural integrity, performance output, and resilience across multiple pathways—especially in the context of aging or chronic training demand.

In the 2024 Nature Metabolism study, trigonelline supplementation restored muscle grip strength and improved fatigue resistance in aged mice, with outcomes exceeding those observed in control groups receiving traditional NAD+ precursors [2]. This effect was tied to increased NAD+ availability in skeletal muscle, which reactivated SIRT1- and PGC-1α-dependent pathways responsible for mitochondrial biogenesis, inflammation control, and protein maintenance—all critical for contractile performance and mass preservation [5].

NAD+ also plays a protective role against muscle wasting. It regulates the balance between anabolic and catabolic signaling, modulating FoxO transcription factors and suppressing atrophy-related genes like MuRF1 and atrogin-1 [6]. This anti-catabolic signaling becomes especially important during periods of calorie deficit, illness, or overreaching, when muscle degradation accelerates. Trigonelline, by supplying NAD+ directly to muscle cells, may help maintain lean mass even under systemic stress.

One overlooked aspect of muscle performance is neuromuscular junction (NMJ) stability, or, the connections between nerves and muscle fibers. These connections go both ways, with afferent signals carrying sensory feedback from muscle to brain, and efferent signals delivering motor commands from brain to muscle. Maintaining the integrity of this bidirectional communication is essential for coordination, strength, and rapid recovery from fatigue. NAD+ is required for the function of enzymes that protect NMJ architecture—particularly in aging or disease models where synaptic decline contributes to strength loss [7]. Trigonelline’s direct muscle delivery may therefore preserve the electrical signaling fidelity needed for explosive power and motor unit recruitment.

Muscle Fiber Type Preservation

Emerging evidence suggests that NAD+ availability influences muscle fiber type composition. High NAD+ levels favor the maintenance of fast-twitch (Type II) fibers—those responsible for strength, speed, and power—by enhancing mitochondrial support without triggering full transition to slow-twitch oxidative profiles [8]. This has implications for athletes seeking to maintain peak force output without compromising endurance. By elevating muscle NAD+ directly, trigonelline may help preserve this delicate fiber balance.

Trigonelline is formulated not to just support general energy—but to protect the architecture of athleticism at the cellular level.

For a reliable, pure form of trigonelline with zero additives, you can trust Mortalis Labs.

World's oldest aquarium fish 'Methuselah' could be decades older than we originally thought, DNA clock reveals

A new study has found that the famous Australian lungfish Methuselah, who first arrived in the U.S. in 1938, could be up to 101 years old.

Read more:

World's oldest aquarium fish 'Methuselah' could be decades older than we originally thought, DNA clock reveals | Live Science

Deaths reported in 1901. Borough of Manhattan. 1902.

Internet Archive

The scientific name of this species is Myotis sibiricus, but it's commonly known as the Siberian whiskered bat. It has the longest lifespan of any bat in the world, with some individuals living to be more than 40 years old.

This species was originally identified as a subspecies of the Brandt's bat, Myotis brandtii, but genetic studies now confirm that it actually represents its own distinct species.

Above: a Siberian whiskered bat

In 1964, a Siberian whiskered bat was captured, tagged, and released by researchers in the Biryusa region of Siberia, and the exact same bat was later recaptured by another team of scientists in 2005; that specimen was at least 41 years old at the time, and it's still the oldest bat on record. The previous record-holder was another Siberian bat that was at least 38 years old at the time of its capture.

The genus Myotis contains several other species that have been known to live for more than 20 years, but the Siberian whiskered bat has an exceptionally long lifespan, especially compared to other small mammals.

Above: the bats tend to look like fuzzy little potatoes

The longevity of this species (and other long-living bats) defies our conventional understanding of the relationship between an animal's size and its lifespan. Smaller animals typically have a much shorter lifespan compared to larger animals, because they have higher metabolic demands. These bats are a rare exception to that rule.

In fact, the Siberian whiskered bat has the longest lifespan of any mammal relative to its size, with its tiny body measuring just 3-5cm long and weighing 4-8 grams (that's roughly the weight of 3 pennies).

Above: Myotis sibiricus

Research suggests that the bats' longevity could be linked to a mutation in two genes that are related to growth:

Above: this photo shows a group of Siberian whiskered bats roosting together on the roof of a cave

There are several other factors that could also play a role, as this article explains:

Above: Siberian whiskered bats

Some articles on this topic still describe the world's longest-living bat as the Brandt's bat, but that claim is based on the outdated assumption that Myotis sibiricus is simply a subspecies of Myotis brandtii. These bats are now recognized as two separate species, which means that Myotis sibiricus is actually the oldest bat species on record.

Above: Myotis sibiricus

This is a corrected version of a post that I published about 2 years ago, with more information, photos, and sources.

Sources & More Info:

Everyone is looking for the fountain of youth–but dare we say, we probably found it.

It’s a fact, that laughter extends your life. Nothing rejuvenates the mind, body, and soul like a good chuckle. And we mean that whole-hearted laughter that comes from actual human-made art, not whatever algorithm-generated slop is currently clogging your feed like arterial plaque.

Now, here’s our proposition: You get the ultimate longevity hack, the key to an endless stream of funny stuff, and we get to make a living.

Our supporters on Patreon are already in on it. They’re not just getting bonus comics, early access, and downloadable art – though they are getting those things. No, what they’re really getting is more life.

Think about it. Every comic you see before the general public is another laugh you get ahead of the mortality curve. You’re literally time-traveling into a funnier, longer future. The rest of the world is brain-rotting away while you’re chuckling at Sunday’s comic on a Friday like some dashing Doc Brown.

A Funnier, Longer Life

If you want to take your hack to the next level, you can sign up for an actual physical love letter. In the mail. Remember mail? That thing that used to bring us things other than bills and ads?

This love letter arrives filled with a holographic sticker, a surprise item from the exclusive subscriber vault of wonders (cartoon magnets that will hold your nephew’s drawing to your fridge way better than those real estate agent freebies; bumper stickers that might cause a pile-up on the freeway; key chains that will hold your keys while also broadcasting your artistic taste), sealed with actual love and confetti.

When was the last time you opened your mail and confetti fell onto your driveway? When was the last time anything in your life involved confetti that wasn’t shredding financial documents before your shady boss’s tax audit. This confetti celebrates your longer life.

Don’t Die

The science is unimpeachable: human-made art makes you laugh, laughter releases endorphins, endorphins are basically tiny maintenance workers repairing your insides, and boom: you’ve just extended your warranty.

And unlike those sketchy supplement companies or that one guy in Yoga class who won’t shut up about intermittent fasting, we’re offering you a path to longevity that involves more laughter, not less food.

So really becoming a Patreon supporter isn’t just supporting an artist. It’s an investment in your own continued existence. Your move, mortal.

Health is the goal.