Niacin

CAS 59-67-6

Listed as a nutrient supplement by the US.

Listed as nutrient supplements (US)
Chemical structure of Niacin, from PubChem compound 938
Structure from PubChem CID 938 (National Library of Medicine, public domain). A depiction of one compound: where a listing covers a family, or a substance has no single structure, this page shows none.

Niacin is vitamin B3 in its acid form, added to flour, cereals and drinks. Its deficiency disease, pellagra, was widespread in maize-dependent populations before cereal fortification.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Niacin by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
Australia and New ZealandFood Standards Australia New ZealandNo listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it.
CanadaHealth CanadaNo listing matchedHealth Canada’s lists name additives without E or INS numbers, so this site matches them by exact name. A substance listed there under a name this site does not recognise has no row here.
European UnionEuropean Commission / EFSANo listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it.
Great BritainFood Standards Agency / Food Standards ScotlandNo listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it.
JapanConsumer Affairs AgencyPermitted, with conditions
Designated additive: Appended Table 1, item 289, ニコチン酸（別名ナイアシン） (“Nicotinic Acid (Niacin)” in the unofficial English translation). …

Designated additive: Appended Table 1, item 289, ニコチン酸（別名ナイアシン） (“Nicotinic Acid (Niacin)” in the unofficial English translation). Standards for use — Specifications and Standards for Foods, Food Additives, etc. (MHW Notification No. 370 of 1959), Part II (Food Additives), F (Standards for use), entry ニコチン酸: (1) [must not be used in the foods stated] “ニコチン酸は、食肉及び鮮魚介類(鯨肉を含む。)に使用してはならない。” The Japanese is the standard as published. There is no official English translation of the Notification; the English in square brackets is this site’s description of what each sentence does, not a translation of the foods or the levels. Compositional specifications for this additive, in the same Notification, are not imported and are not shown here; nor are the general rules in F 添加物一般, which apply to every additive.

Regulations for Enforcement of the Food Sanitation Act (MHW Ordinance No. 23 of 1948), Appended Table 1retrieved 2026-10-18
South KoreaMinistry of Food and Drug SafetyPermitted, with conditions
Designated food additive: Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, Part III, 3. …

Designated food additive: Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, Part III, 3. 영양강화제 (nutrient fortifiers), 니코틴산; nutrient: 나이아신. Standard for use (사용기준) of 니코틴산: (1) [may be used only in the foods listed] “니코틴산은 아래의 식품에 한하여 사용하여야 한다. 1. 특수영양식품, 특수의료용도식품 2. 건강기능식품 3. 영양강화밀가루” The Korean is the standard as published. There is no official English translation of the current Code (the English version on MFDS’s website is the 2020 edition and has no legal effect); the English in square brackets is this site’s description of what each sentence does, not a translation of the foods or the levels. Compositional specifications (Part IV) are not imported, nor are the general standards in Part II, which apply to every additive.

Standards and Specifications for Food Additives (식품첨가물의 기준 및 규격), MFDS Notification, Part III (Standards for use, by item)retrieved 2026-10-18
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationPermitted21 CFR 184.1530retrieved 2026-10-17
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFANot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.

How much is permitted

A listing usually limits the quantity as well as the food. Only one of the forms that takes is a figure: quantum satis and good manufacturing practice permit the amount the technological effect requires and no more, which is a limit rather than the absence of one. Figures below are the range across every food category this page is listed in, and categories differ between regulators — see how much is permitted.

Japan—1 no quantity stated
South Korea—1 no quantity stated
United States—1 no quantity stated

No regulator sets a figure for Niacin. That is not an absence of control: where the listing says quantum satis or good manufacturing practice, the quantity is limited to what the effect requires.

What it is made from

Produced by chemical synthesis, usually by oxidising a pyridine derivative. Nixtamalised maize releases bound niacin, which is why tortilla-based diets avoided pellagra where untreated maize diets did not.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian

Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.

CAS registry number
59-67-6
InChIKey
PVNIIMVLHYAWGP-UHFFFAOYSA-N
PubChem
CID 938

Every name it appears under

62 recorded names. A label may use any of them.

CAS registry number

  • 59-67-6

As it appears in regulation

  • Niacin

Other names

  • 3-Carboxylpyridine
  • 3-Carboxypyridine
  • 3-pyridinecarboxylic acid
  • Acidum nicotinicum
  • Akotin
  • Apelagrin
  • Bionic
  • Daskil
  • Davitamon PP
  • Diacin
  • Direktan
  • Efacin
  • Enduracin
  • Linic
  • Naotin
  • Niac
  • niacin
  • Niacor
  • Niaspan
  • Nicacid
  • nicamin
  • Nicangin
  • Nico-Span
  • nicobid
  • nicocap
  • Nicocidin
  • Nicocrisina
  • Nicodelmine
  • Nicodon
  • nicolar
  • Niconacid
  • Niconat
  • Niconazid
  • Nicorol
  • Nicosan 3
  • Nicosyl
  • Nicotamin
  • Nicotene
  • Nicotil
  • Nicotine acid
  • Nicotinic acid
  • Nicotinipca
  • Nicotinsaure
  • Nicovasan
  • Nicovasen
  • Nicyl
  • Nipellen
  • Nyclin
  • Pellagramin
  • Pellagrin
  • Pelonin
  • Peviton
  • Pyridine-3-carboxylic acid
  • SK-Niacin
  • Tega-Span
  • Tinic
  • vitamin B3
  • Vitaplex N
  • wampocap

Systematic names

  • pyridine-3-carboxylic acid

Hazard reference values

No reference value for this substance in the sources we hold.

Evidence and how bodies read it

Studies, and the differing conclusions regulators drew from them, are curated rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.

Common questions

Assembled from what is above, in the words the questions are usually asked in. Each answer is the same statement the relevant section makes, with the same citations behind it.

What is Niacin?
Niacin is vitamin B3 in its acid form, added to flour, cereals and drinks. Its deficiency disease, pellagra, was widespread in maize-dependent populations before cereal fortification.
What is Niacin used for in food?
It is listed as a nutrient supplement — the role the US assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Is Niacin banned in Europe?
No. Niacin is not on the EU's list of authorised food additives, but it would not be expected to be: every role regulators give it — nutrient supplement — the EU regulates under separate law. Its absence from the additives list says nothing about whether it is permitted in Europe.
Where is Niacin permitted?
Of the seven regulators this site reads, Japan, South Korea and the US permit it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.
Is Niacin vegan?
Yes. Niacin is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.

Sources for this page

  • jp retrieved 2026-10-18
  • kr retrieved 2026-10-18
  • ecfr retrieved 2026-10-17

Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.

Machine-readable: a JSON record of this additive is given on request —how to ask for access.

Follow changes to Niacin:Atom feed — regulatory events, and any change the weekly refresh detects in its provisions.