Easily stay on top of the latest nutrition research
Become an Examine Member to get access to the latest research. Get 150+ studies summarized for you across 25 different categories every month.
Members also have access to the Examine Study Database of 400+ supplements and their effects on 600+ health outcomes, as well as in-depth research analyses. Understand the whole body of nutrition and supplement evidence at a glance.
Get instant access — start your free 14-day trialAlready a Member? Click here to log in.
The Human Effect Matrix summarizes human studies to tell you what effects N-Acetylcysteine has on your body, how much evidence there is, and how strong these effects are.
Full details are available to Examine Members. Not a Member? Try Examine Membership completely free for two weeks.
| Grade | Level of Evidence [show legend] |
|---|---|
|
Robust research conducted with repeated double-blind clinical trials |
|
Multiple studies where at least two are double-blind and placebo controlled |
|
Single double-blind study or multiple cohort studies |
|
Uncontrolled or observational studies only |
|
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.
|
Consistency of research results
?
Scientific research does not always agree. HIGH or
VERY HIGH means that most of the scientific research agrees.
|
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Minor
|
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.
|
|
|
|
- | - See all 3 studies |
|
|
|
|
Notable
|
- See study |
NAC supplementation is able to reliably increase glutathione concentrations in cells specifically
|
|
|
|
Minor
|
- 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
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
Minor
|
- See study |
After about two weeks of 2,400mg NAC supplementation, cigarette usage appears to be reduced voluntarily by around 25%.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
- | - See study |
|
|
|
|
- | - See study |
|
|
|
|
- | - See study |
|
|
|
|
- | - See 2 studies |
|
|
|
|
- | - See study |
|
|
|
|
- | - See study |
|
|
|
|
- | - See study |
|
|
|
|
- | - See study |
|
|
|
|
- | - See study |
|
|
|
|
Notable
|
- See study |
There is a significant reduction of total lesion counts in those who supplement N-Acetylcysteine for at least two months.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
- | - See study |
|
Studies Excluded from Consideration
Used injections of N-acetylcysteine[1]
