Elysium Basis — Nicotinamide Riboside 250mg + Pterostilbene Review

No — and we label that plainly because it matters. Basis is nicotinamide riboside (NR) 250 mg plus pterostilbene 50 mg, not NMN. NR is a different NAD+ precursor — one step further back in the pathway — and we include it in this ranking as an honest alternative, not as an NMN product. The practical reason it's here: NR is NOT subject to the FDA's late-2022 position excluding NMN from the supplement category, so it stays reliably in stock while NMN listings get relabeled and rotated. If you specifically want NMN, this isn't it; if you want a well-tested NAD+ booster that sidesteps the NMN regulatory question, it's one of the strongest options in the lineup.

It's the strongest trust signal in this category and the main reason Basis scores so high on testing. NSF Certified for Sport means an independent third party has verified the product's contents and screened it against banned substances — a genuine, auditable certification that almost nothing else in this lineup carries. In a category where NMN purity and dosing are largely brand-stated, that independent verification is worth real money, especially for a drug-tested athlete. Only Tru Niagen (#2, ISO/IEC-accredited batch testing) comes close among these picks; Basis's NSF Certified for Sport is the clearest independent credential here.

Pterostilbene is a polyphenol structurally similar to resveratrol, included as a complementary longevity ingredient alongside the NR. The pairing is the basis of Elysium's formulation and the version studied in its placebo-controlled NAD+ trial. Think of it as the NR analogue of the resveratrol/quercetin co-factors you see bundled with NMN elsewhere in this lineup (e.g. Wonderfeel Youngr, #6) — a longevity-adjacent addition rather than a proven independent benefit. It does mean Basis is a two-ingredient formula in a different product class from a single-ingredient NMN capsule.

Value is its weakest axis. At roughly $60 for a 60-capsule bottle that's a 30-day supply (the serving is 2 capsules), it's one of the higher monthly costs in this lineup — about $2.00 per serving. You're paying for the NSF certification, the placebo-controlled trial behind the formula, and the established brand, not for a low price. If cost-per-month is your priority, the budget NMN picks (Double Wood, #7) or the value single-ingredient NMN (Partiqlar, #4) are far cheaper. Basis is the pick when independent certification and trust outweigh price.

More than most picks here, but read it for what it is. Basis was studied in a placebo-controlled trial showing it raises NAD+ — genuine human evidence that the product does something measurable to NAD+ levels, which is more than the brand-stated NMN options can show. NR more broadly is the most heavily studied NAD+ booster in humans (e.g. Martens 2018, Elhassan 2019). But raising NAD+ is a biomarker, not a hard outcome: the same NR literature shows raising NAD+ doesn't reliably translate into functional or longevity benefits. So Basis has real NAD+-raising evidence, honestly framed — not proof it slows aging.

1. [1] Martens 2018 PMID 29599478 — Chronic nicotinamide riboside supplementation is well-tolerated and elevates NAD+ in healthy middle-aged and older adults. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial showed 6 weeks of NR (1,000 mg/day) was well tolerated and raised NAD+ metabolism in healthy middle-aged and older adults, with a suggestive reduction in blood pressure. Key human evidence for NR — the regulatorily-stable, better-studied NAD+ precursor that Basis is built on.
2. [2] Elhassan 2019 PMID 31412242 — Nicotinamide Riboside Augments the Aged Human Skeletal Muscle NAD+ Metabolome and Induces Transcriptomic and Anti-inflammatory Signatures. In a placebo-controlled crossover trial, 21 days of NR (1,000 mg/day) in aged men raised the muscle NAD+ metabolome and produced anti-inflammatory signatures, but did NOT change mitochondrial bioenergetics or physical performance. The honest illustration of the gap between raising NAD+ and producing a functional benefit — the core caution applied to Basis's NAD+-raising claim.
3. [3] Yoshino 2021 PMID 33888596 — Nicotinamide mononucleotide increases muscle insulin sensitivity in prediabetic women. A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial found 10 weeks of oral NMN (250 mg/day) improved muscle insulin sensitivity in prediabetic women. The reference point for the NMN side of this category — included to contextualize Basis as an NR alternative, not an NMN product, and to keep the evidence framing honest across both precursors.