What is Acetylcysteine?
{{complex|date=May 2023}} '''Acetylcysteine''', also known as '''''N''-acetylcysteine''' ('''NAC''') or Acetadone, is a [[medication]]. It is used to treat [[paracetamol overdose]] and to loosen thick [[mucus]] when someone has [[pneumonia]] or [[bronchitis]] or other (similar) chronic bronchopulmonary [[disorder]]s.<ref name=AHFS2015>{{cite web|title=Acetylcysteine|url=https://www.drugs.com/monograph/acetylcysteine.html|publisher=The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists|access-date=22 August 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923231013/http://www.drugs.com/monograph/acetylcysteine.html|archive-date=23 September 2015}}</ref> It has been used to treat [[bezoars|lactobezoar]] in infants. It can be taken [[Intravenous therapy|intravenously]], by mouth, or inhaled as a mist.<ref name=AHFS2015/> Some people use it as a [[dietary supplement]].<ref>{{cite book|vauthors=Talbott SM|title=A Guide to Understanding Dietary Supplements|date=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136805707|page=469|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ZZrW_j9XrcC&pg=PA469|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908143219/https://books.google.com/books?id=9ZZrW_j9XrcC&pg=PA469|archive-date=8 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Cysteine|url=http://www.umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/cysteine|website=University of Maryland Medical Center|access-date=23 June 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701184417/http://www.umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/cysteine|archive-date=1 July 2017}}</ref> ==Chemistry== Acetylcysteine is the ''N''-[[acetyl]] derivative of the amino acid <small>L</small>-[[cysteine]]. It is a [[precursor]], when the [[human body]] makes the [[antioxidant]] [[glutathione]]. ==References== {{reflist}} {{Cough and cold preparations}} {{Antioxidants}} {{Antidotes}} [[Category:Sulfur compounds]] {{chem-stub}}