Nicotinic acid is outstanding among the B vitamins in that its metabolic fate has been very extensively investigated. These studies, however, have been carried out mostly in higher animals, and they have revealed that (i) N'-methylnicotinamide is, in general, the major end-product of the metabolism of both nicotinic acid and nicotinamide; (ii) nicotinuric acid, the glycine conjugate of nicotini...

The foregone studies have shown that nicotinic acid cannot produce noticeable reductive signal at carbon-based electrodes without appropriate modification of the electrode. This is an obvious reason that mercury is known as the main electrode material for electro-reduction of nicotinic acid. In this study, it has been shown that it is possible to create a remarkable reduction signal for NA at a...

Zinc coatings are commonly used to protect steel from different types of corrosion. However, zinc is an electrochemical reactive metal; applying surface treatment galvanized materials usually necessary increase the system's lifetime. An alternative method for improving service life these use corrosion inhibitors. Nicotinic acid, chemically formulated as C 5 H 4 NCO, a water-soluble vitamin. It ...

Cholinergic neurons and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in the brain participate in diverse functions: reward, learning and memory, mood, sensory processing, pain, and neuroprotection. Nicotinic systems also have well-known roles in drug abuse. Here, we review recent insights into nicotinic function, linking exogenous and endogenous manipulations of nAChRs to alterations in synapses,...

The tryptophan metabolite, kynurenic acid (KYNA), is a preferential antagonist of the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor at endogenous brain concentrations. Recent studies have suggested that increase of brain KYNA levels is involved in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and depression. KYNA-producing enzymes have broad substrate specificity for amino acids, and brain uptake of kynure...

A convergence of preclinical pharmacology, and human autopsy and genetic data support the existence of reduced expression and function of the alpha7 nicotinic receptor in patients with schizophrenia. The alpha7 nicotinic receptor is a member of a family of ligand-gated ion channels. The alpha7 nicotinic receptor may play an essential role in auditory sensory gating and voluntary smooth pursuit ...

Some fifty years ago the Canadian pathologist Rudolf Altschul discovered that nicotinic acid in gram doses lowered plasma cholesterol in man, an effect surprisingly not shared by nicotinamide [1]. Altschul had also shown that nicotinic acid lowered plasma cholesterol and reduced aortic atherosclerosis in the cholesterol-fed rabbit. At that time, 5 years before bile acid sequestrants and 6-8 yea...