N-Acetylcysteine
Our evidence-based analysis on n-acetylcysteine features 107 unique references to scientific papers.
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Human Effect Matrix
The Human Effect Matrix looks at human studies (it excludes animal and in vitro studies) to tell you what effects n-acetylcysteine has on your body, and how strong these effects are.
| Grade | Level of Evidence [show legend] |
|---|---|
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Robust research conducted with repeated double-blind clinical trials |
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Multiple studies where at least two are double-blind and placebo controlled |
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Single double-blind study or multiple cohort studies |
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Uncontrolled or observational studies only |
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Level of Evidence
?
The amount of high quality evidence. The more
evidence, the more we can trust the results.
|
Outcome |
Magnitude of effect
?
The direction and size of the supplement's impact on
each outcome. Some supplements can have an increasing effect, others have a decreasing effect, and others have no effect.
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Consistency of research results
?
Scientific research does not always agree. HIGH or
VERY HIGH means that most of the scientific research agrees.
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Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Minor
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Low See all 4 studies |
N-Acetylcysteine may reduce some symptoms of COPD by acting as a mucolytic agent and reducing sputum formation, but it does not appear to be effective at aiding the lungs themselves or reducing disease progression.
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- | - See all 3 studies |
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Notable
|
- See study |
NAC supplementation is able to reliably increase glutathione concentrations in cells specifically
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Minor
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- See study |
A decrease in red blood cell (RBC) lipofuscin content has been seen, which is thought to be secondary to reducing lead toxicity and increasing antioxidative defenses
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Minor
|
- See study |
NAC supplementation appears to reduce lead bioaccumulation in red blood cells, although the magnitude is statistically significant it is not overly large
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Minor
|
- See study |
After about two weeks of 2,400mg NAC supplementation, cigarette usage appears to be reduced voluntarily by around 25%.
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Minor
|
- See study |
Preliminary evidence suggests a 31-45% reduction in hair pulling symptoms in persons with trichotillomania when supplementing with 1,200-2,400mg NAC for twelve weeks.
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- | - See study |
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- | - See study |
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- | - See study |
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|
- | - See 2 studies |
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- | - See study |
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- | - See study |
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- | - See study |
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- | - See study |
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- | - See study |
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Notable
|
- See study |
There is a significant reduction of total lesion counts in those who supplement N-Acetylcysteine for at least two months.
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|
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Minor
|
- See study |
Self-reported cravings for cocaine during one day of withdrawal appear to be significantly reduced following 12 hours (although acute cravings after 2 hours of supplementation are not affected); this lasts for 24 hours after cessation.
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Minor
|
- See study |
Supplementation of 2,400mg appears to reduce symptoms of marijuana addiction, although the reductions in symptoms are not overly prominent based on the limited evidence so far.
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|
- | - See study |
|
Studies Excluded from Consideration
Used injections of N-acetylcysteine[1]
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Things to Note
Is a Form Of
Other Functions:
Primary Function:
Also Known As
N-Acetyl Cysteine, NAC, N-Ac
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