Feature Summary

N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC) is known to have diverse physiological and therapeutic benefits, attributed largely to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and mucolytic effects. It is well-accepted to increase the critical intracellular antioxidant glutathione, by supplying a stable form of L-cysteine, the rate-limiting factor for glutathione synthesis.¹ The number of conditions with altered glutathione homeostasis continues to grow, including not only cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, pulmonary and age-related diseases, but there is also a growing clinical recognition of metabolic disturbances linked to environmental toxin exposure, such as diabetes and persistent organic pollutants.² By restoring glutathione levels, NAC also is well established as the most effective therapy for acetaminophen toxicity.³

Additionally, NAC’s ability to cleave disulfide bonds provides efficacy as a mucolytic agent, with clinical benefit for individuals with COPD and pulmonary fibrosis.^4,5 Breaking disulfide bonds may also be the same mechanism by which it lowers homocysteine and improves endothelial function in coronary artery disease.⁶ NAC has immunomodulating and anti-inflammatory effects, improving influenza symptomology and SLE disease activity.^7,8 By modulating glutamatergic and neurotropic pathways, NAC also has shown benefit for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and autism.^9,10,11,12