CompoAtlas

Acétylcystéine in food supplements

1,247 supplements declared in France contain Acétylcystéine as a substance or active ingredient.

Other names in the Compl'Alim list: acetylcysteine, N-acétylcystéine, NAC.

Compl'Alim declarations. Compl'Alim, food supplement declarations (France), retrieved 23 October 2026.

What we know about this ingredient

Uses

  • MUCOLYTIC AGENT (ADJUVANT) FOR BRONCHOPULMONARY DISORDERS

  • Medicine, biochemical research

  • Mucolytic; corneal vulnerary; antidote to acetaminophen poisoning

  • Secretolytic agent

PubChem : Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) · 2026-10-29 · SRI; Lewis, R.J., Sr (Ed.). Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary. 12th ed. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Rheinhold Co., 1993, p. 12; O'Neil, M.J. (ed.). The Merck Index - An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, and Biologicals. 13th Edition, Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck and Co., Inc., 2001., p. 17; Gerhartz, W. (exec ed.). Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. 5th ed.Vol A1: Deerfield Beach, FL: VCH Publishers, 1985 to Present., p. VA2 83.

Licence.

Use classification

  • Cosmetics -> Antioxidant

PubChem : NORMAN Suspect List Exchange · 2026-10-29 · S13 | EUCOSMETICS | Combined Inventory of Ingredients Employed in Cosmetic Products (2000) and Revised Inventory (2006) | DOI:10.5281/zenodo.2624118.

Licence.

A molecule found naturally in plants or organisms; in a supplement it may be extracted from them, made by fermentation or synthesised: the declaration does not say which.

Basis: one CosIngThe European Commission's database of cosmetic ingredients. CAS and natural occurrence recorded in Wikidata (LOTUS database).

Wikidata: names of substances in six languages and taxa in which they occur (largely from the LOTUS database), retrieved 23 October 2026.

Natural occurrence recorded in Wikidata (LOTUS database): 3 taxa; examples: Actaea simplex, Cimicifuga simplex, Homo sapiens.

Wikidata: names of substances in six languages and taxa in which they occur (largely from the LOTUS database), retrieved 23 October 2026.

Manufacturing

  • ... Made by acylating L-cysteine hydrochloride hydrate with acetic anhydride in the presence of sodium acetate.

  • Direct acetylation of naturally occurring L-cysteine

  • Preparation and use in treatment of respiratory diseases: Martin, Waller, US 3184505 (1965 to Mead Johnson)

PubChem : Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) · 2026-10-29 · Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. 6th ed.Vol 1: Federal Republic of Germany: Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. 2003 to Present, p. V9 626 (2003); SRI; O'Neil, M.J. (ed.). The Merck Index - An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, and Biologicals. 13th Edition, Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck and Co., Inc., 2001., p. 17.

Licence.

Appearance

  • Crystals from water

  • WHITE, CRYSTALLINE POWDER

PubChem : Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) · 2026-10-29 · O'Neil, M.J. (ed.). The Merck Index - An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, and Biologicals. 13th Edition, Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck and Co., Inc., 2001., p. 17; Osol, A. (ed.). Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences. 16th ed. Easton, Pennsylvania: Mack Publishing Co., 1980., p. 805.

Licence.

Odour described

  • SLIGHT ACETIC ODOR

PubChem : Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) · 2026-10-29 · Osol, A. (ed.). Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences. 16th ed. Easton, Pennsylvania: Mack Publishing Co., 1980., p. 805.

Licence.

Stability

  • Stable in ordinary light; stable at temp up to 120 °C; nonhygroscopic (oxidizes in moist air)

PubChem : Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) · 2026-10-29 · Osol, A. (ed.). Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences. 16th ed. Easton, Pennsylvania: Mack Publishing Co., 1980., p. 805.

Licence.

Taste described

  • CHARACTERISTIC SOUR TASTE

PubChem : Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) · 2026-10-29 · Osol, A. (ed.). Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences. 16th ed. Easton, Pennsylvania: Mack Publishing Co., 1980., p. 805.

Licence.

Associated research

ClinicalTrials.gov · A trial is not proof: it tests a hypothesis.

Searched on 1 November 2026.

Other names: N-acetyl-L-cysteine (English), Acetylcystein (German), acetilcisteína (Spanish), acetilcisteina (Italian), acetilcisteína (Portuguese).

Wikidata: names of substances in six languages and taxa in which they occur (largely from the LOTUS database), retrieved 23 October 2026.

Same substance in cosmetics: ACETYL CYSTEINE.

In plain words

À quoi il sert, selon les fabricants

Objectifs les plus souvent annoncés pour les compléments qui en contiennent (Acétylcystéine) : antioxydant (192 produits), immunité (168 produits), détoxifiant / draineur (137 produits), voies respiratoires (78 produits), digestion (56 produits).

Ce sont les objectifs déclarés par les fabricants à l'administration, pas des effets démontrés. Sur l'emballage, seules les allégations de santé autorisées par l'Union peuvent être écrites.

Compl'Alim, food supplement declarations (France), retrieved 23 October 2026.

What the registers say, country by country

Each line repeats what an official register says on the date it was consulted. Not being in a register means neither allowed nor banned.

Health claims register (European Union): 0 authorised and 1 refused claim(s) for this substance.

EU Register of nutrition and health claims, retrieved 21 October 2026.

Compl'Alim ingredient list (France): listed.

Compl'Alim, reference list of ingredients, retrieved 21 October 2026.

Canada, licensed natural health products (LNHPD): 714 products.

Licensed Natural Health Products Database (LNHPD), Health Canada: licensed products, ingredients, doses, uses and risks, retrieved 27 October 2026.

Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada (Health Canada, LNHPD)

Licence du gouvernement ouvert – Canada 2.0 (OGL-Canada 2.0)

United States, supplement labels (DSLD; supplements need no prior approval): 806 products.

Dietary Supplement Label Database (DSLD), US National Institutes of Health: current and off-market labels, retrieved 27 October 2026.

Source: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, Dietary Supplement Label Database (CC0); US market labels.

Poland, notified supplements: 11 products.

GIS, products notified in Poland, retrieved 27 October 2026.

Główny Inspektorat Sanitarny (GIS), Rejestr produktów objętych powiadomieniem

CC BY 4.0

Declared daily quantities

Declared daily quantities: Acétylcystéine
UnitProductsMedianMinimumMaximum
mg3992503600

Calculated from Compl'Alim declarations that provide a quantity. These are quantities declared by manufacturers, not measurements, and preparation is not distinguished (powder, extract of varying concentration): differences between products can be very large.

Official warnings (Health Canada)

N-ACETYL-L-CYSTEINE

Route of administration: Oral

Cautions and warnings

Ask a health care practitioner/health care provider/health care professional/doctor/physician before use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Ask a health care practitioner/health care provider/health care professional/doctor/physician before use if you have kidney stones (Fauci et al. 1998; Mårtensson et al. 1990).

2 studies cited in the text have no matching reference in the monograph (see the anomalies listed on the sources page).

Contraindications

Do not use if you are taking antibiotics or nitroglycerin (Repchinsky 2008; Cederlund and Märdh 1993; Parry and Neu 1977; Ardissino et al. 1997).

4 studies cited in the text have no matching reference in the monograph (see the anomalies listed on the sources page).

Health Canada monograph dated 19 December 2025

Texts from the monograph of Health Canada, the Canadian authority, reproduced without modification. They do not replace medical advice.

Products