NAC – N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine 800 mg 60 Capsules

N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC) 800 mg — 60 research capsules. NAC is the most clinically validated glutathione precursor in modern medicine: included on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, in continuous worldwide use since the 1960s as a mucolytic and the standard antidote for acetaminophen poisoning, and the subject of more than 200 randomized controlled trials covering psychiatric, pulmonary, hepatic, fertility, addiction and cardiovascular endpoints. The 800 mg per-capsule format is the highest single-unit dose in commercial use and mirrors the per-day intake employed in the bulk of the high-dose neuropsychiatric and pulmonary RCTs.

Research Overview

NAC is the acetylated form of the semi-essential amino acid L-cysteine and the most pharmacokinetically efficient direct precursor of intracellular glutathione (GSH) — the principal endogenous low-molecular-weight antioxidant in mammalian cells [1]. In the liver, NAC restocks GSH to neutralize the toxic acetaminophen metabolite NAPQI; this is the basis of its FDA/EMA-approved use in paracetamol overdose [2]. In the airway, the free thiol cleaves disulfide cross-links in mucin glycoproteins, reducing sputum viscosity. In the central nervous system, NAC modulates the cystine–glutamate antiporter (xCT), restoring extra-synaptic glutamate tone — the mechanism implicated in its randomized-trial signal for OCD, trichotillomania, bipolar depression and substance-use disorders [3]. The molecule has an exceptional safety record across more than five decades of clinical use, with mild GI upset and rare anaphylactoid reactions to IV formulations as the principal known signals.

Primary Research Areas

• Glutathione synthesis and redox biology — the canonical chemical tool for replenishing intracellular GSH and probing thiol-redox-dependent cellular processes [1].
• Hepatoprotection and detoxification research — the gold-standard antidote in acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity, and a workhorse molecule in NAFLD, cirrhosis and ischemia-reperfusion liver models [2].
• Pulmonary and mucolytic research — decades of evidence in COPD, cystic fibrosis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, where it modulates mucus rheology and oxidant–antioxidant balance [1].
• Neuropsychiatric research — RCT evidence in OCD, trichotillomania, bipolar depression, schizophrenia and substance-use research; mechanism centered on the cystine–glutamate antiporter [3].
• Fertility, oocyte quality and PCOS research — investigated for its effects on sperm parameters, ovulation induction and metabolic features of PCOS, where oxidative stress is implicated [1].

References

1. Šalamon Š, Kramar B, Marolt TP, Poljšak B, Milisav I. Medical and dietary uses of N-acetylcysteine. Antioxidants (Basel). 2019;8(5):111.
2. Smilkstein MJ, Knapp GL, Kulig KW, Rumack BH. Efficacy of oral N-acetylcysteine in the treatment of acetaminophen overdose. N Engl J Med. 1988;319(24):1557–1562.
3. Berk M, Malhi GS, Gray LJ, Dean OM. The promise of N-acetylcysteine in neuropsychiatry. Trends Pharmacol Sci. 2013;34(3):167–177.