Longevity asks how renewal can be triggered.We ask what it is made of.
Autophagy. NAD+. Mitochondria. Senescence. Longevity research keeps getting better at understanding which signals drive cellular processes. But every signal eventually leads to a material task: something has to be repaired, replaced or rebuilt. And for that, biology needs building blocks.
Nucleotides are among the most fundamental of them.
Your body never stops rebuilding itself.
Muscle. Skin. Blood. Gut. Immune cells. While you read this, your body is repairing, replacing and renewing. New proteins are formed. Cells are replaced. DNA and RNA are built and maintained continuously. Nucleotides are a fundamental part of this biology.
DNA
Every time a cell copies its DNA, new DNA strands are built from nucleotides.
RNA
A, G, C and U form the molecular language of RNA, central to how genetic information is put into action.
Energy & Signalling
Nucleotide compounds take on central roles in energy metabolism and cellular signalling pathways.
That's why FIRST does not begin with a desired outcome. FIRST begins with the biology that makes rebuilding possible.
The biology is established. Research into supplementation is still at an early stage.
Biological Aging
121 people · 19 weeks · ages 60–70
In a randomised, double-blind study published in 2025, participants received either 1.2 g of nucleotides or a placebo daily. After 19 weeks, the nucleotide group showed a 3.08-year more favourable change in median DNA methylation age compared to placebo. Telomere length showed no significant difference.
A notable signal. Not yet proof of rejuvenation.
Healthy Aging
69 people · 10 weeks · ages 60–75
Another randomised human study compared two nucleotide formulations with a placebo. The researchers reported differences including physical and cognitive function, and markers of inflammation and oxidative stress.
Training & Recovery
Controlled human studies
Several small controlled human studies have looked at nucleotides in connection with physical exertion, endurance and immune responses after intense training. The results are interesting but not consistent, and the evidence base is still small.
None of these studies were conducted with FIRST. They examined different formulations, amounts and, in some cases, different forms of intake. We show them not as proof of effect for FIRST, but as an indication of where nucleotide research is heading.
But if the body makes its own nucleotides, why take more?
The body can make its own nucleotides. That is why they are not generally classed as essential nutrients. It relies mainly on two pathways to do it.
De novo synthesis
The body builds nucleotides from scratch out of smaller molecules.
Salvage pathway
Existing nucleotide components are recovered and reused.
The interesting scientific question, then, is not whether your body can make nucleotides. Of course it can.
The question is: does the body's own supply hold up equally well under all conditions?
Growth, immune activity, physical load and tissues with high cell turnover place different demands on metabolism. That is why research is looking into whether nucleotides can become conditionally essential.
That is exactly the open question behind FIRST.
And then there is breast milk.
The body can make its own nucleotides. And yet the very first food of our lives also contains nucleotides and related nucleotide compounds.
Their composition and possible biological significance have been the subject of infant nutrition research for decades. Defined nucleotides are now permitted as an addition to infant formula.
That does not prove adults need to supplement nucleotides. But it shows something fundamental: dietary nucleotides are not a new longevity concept. They have been part of human nutrition from the very beginning.
What we know. And what we don't yet.
What we know
- Nucleotides are components of DNA and RNA.
- The body builds and recycles them.
- We also take in nucleotides through food.
- Human breast milk contains nucleotides and related compounds.
- Early human studies show interesting signals in healthy aging and physical exertion.
What we don't know yet
- When additional nucleotides become relevant.
- Who is most likely to benefit.
- What amounts and ratios are optimal.
- Whether existing human findings hold up in larger, independent studies.
We deliberately distinguish between what biology has established and what research is only just discovering.
Precision Nucleotides
Not one molecule. Five.
FIRST combines five defined 5'-mononucleotides. Four of them, A, G, C and U, correspond to the four nucleotide building blocks of RNA. IMP holds a special position as an intermediate in purine metabolism.
A
AMP
Adenosine monophosphate
Purine nucleotide and part of central cellular metabolic pathways.
G
GMP
Guanosine monophosphate
Purine nucleotide and building block of RNA.
C
CMP
Cytidine monophosphate
Pyrimidine nucleotide and building block of RNA.
U
UMP
Uridine monophosphate
Pyrimidine nucleotide and direct building block of RNA.
I
IMP
Inosine monophosphate
Intermediate in purine metabolism, from which AMP and GMP, among others, can be formed.
Not just how much. Which ones. In what form. In what ratio.
FIRST works with individually defined, enzymatically produced 5'-mononucleotides from Switzerland. That makes it possible to determine not just the total amount, but which nucleotides are present and in what ratio.
5
defined nucleotides
5'
mononucleotides
CH
Swiss production
Batch tested
tested per batch
Precision begins where nucleotides are no longer treated as a single ingredient.