Medical and Dietary Uses of N-Acetylcysteine.

Špela Šalamon, Barbara Kramar, Tinkara Pirc Marolt, Borut Poljšak, Irina Milisav

Journal: Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) 2019;8(5):111

PMID: 31035402

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Plain Language Summary

N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) is an antioxidant naturally found in plants of the Allium species such as onions. As well as having antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, it is also needed to make glutathione which is an important antioxidant in cells. NAC has been used as a drug since the 1960s and is a popular dietary supplement. NAC is considered safe but the results of clinical trials are controversial or incomplete. This aim of this review is to provide a balanced view of further uses of NAC as a dietary supplement. It discusses the antioxidant properties in relation to conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and ageing; its medical uses, in the complementary treatment of cancer, as a sports supplement and as an anti-aging supplement. More information is needed on NAC and further clinical trials looking at its use in neurodegenerative diseases, addiction, and mental health disorders are underway. This may be relevant to the supplement users and may also help people suffering from chronic degenerative conditions.

Abstract

N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a plant antioxidant naturally found in onion, is a precursor to glutathione. It has been used as a drug since the 1960s and is listed on the World Health Organization (WHO) Model List of Essential Medicines as an antidote in poisonings. There are numerous other uses or proposed uses in medicine that are still in preclinical and clinical investigations. NAC is also used in food supplements and cosmetics. Despite its abundant use, there are projections that the NAC global market will grow in the next five years; therefore, the purpose of this work is to provide a balanced view of further uses of NAC as a dietary supplement. Although NAC is considered a safe substance, the results among clinical trials are sometimes controversial or incomplete, like for many other antioxidants. More clinical trials are underway that will improve our understanding of NAC applicability.

Address: Center for human molecular genetics and pharmacogenomics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenia. [email protected].; Institute of Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Zaloška 4, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia. [email protected].; Institute of Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Zaloška 4, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia. [email protected].; University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Health Sciences, Laboratory of Oxidative Stress Research, Zdravstvena pot 5, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia. [email protected].; Institute of Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Zaloška 4, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia. [email protected].; University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Health Sciences, Laboratory of Oxidative Stress Research, Zdravstvena pot 5, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia. [email protected].

DOI: 10.3390/antiox8050111