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Review
. 2021 Jun 16;10(6):967.
doi: 10.3390/antiox10060967.

N-Acetylcysteine (NAC): Impacts on Human Health

Micaely Cristina Dos Santos Tenório  1 , Nayara Gomes Graciliano  2 , Fabiana Andréa Moura  3   4 , Alane Cabral Menezes de Oliveira  2   3 , Marília Oliveira Fonseca Goulart  1   2
Affiliations
Review

N-Acetylcysteine (NAC): Impacts on Human Health

Micaely Cristina Dos Santos Tenório et al. Antioxidants (Basel). .

Abstract

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a medicine widely used to treat paracetamol overdose and as a mucolytic compound. It has a well-established safety profile, and its toxicity is uncommon and dependent on the route of administration and high dosages. Its remarkable antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity is the biochemical basis used to treat several diseases related to oxidative stress and inflammation. The primary role of NAC as an antioxidant stems from its ability to increase the intracellular concentration of glutathione (GSH), which is the most crucial biothiol responsible for cellular redox imbalance. As an anti-inflammatory compound, NAC can reduce levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukins (IL-6 and IL-1β) by suppressing the activity of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB). Despite NAC's relevant therapeutic potential, in several experimental studies, its effectiveness in clinical trials, addressing different pathological conditions, is still limited. Thus, the purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the medicinal effects and applications of NAC to human health based on current therapeutic evidence.

Keywords: N-acetylcysteine; anti-inflammatory; antioxidant; mechanism of action.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mechanism of molecular action of N-acetylcysteine. Adapted from Aldini et al. (2018) [3].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Chemical formula of N-acetylcysteine and its conversion to glutathione. Adapted from Rushworth and Megson (2014) [11].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Biological activities and therapeutic uses of N-Acetylcysteine. Adapted from Samuni et al. (2013) [34].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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