Eg. Valles et al., N-ACETYL CYSTEINE IS AN EARLY BUT ALSO A LATE PREVENTIVE AGENT AGAINST CARBON TETRACHLORIDE-INDUCED LIVER NECROSIS, Toxicology letters, 71(1), 1994, pp. 87-95
N-Acetyl cysteine (NAC) treatment 30 min before or 6 or 10 h after car
bon tetrachloride (CCl4) administration significantly prevented the li
ver necrosis produced by the hepatotoxin at 24 h. NAC pretreatment was
able to partially decrease the covalent binding of CCl4 reactive meta
bolites at 1 and 3 h of poisoning and, to a small extent, the concentr
ation, Of CCl4 reaching the liver at 3 h. NAC also diminished partiall
y the CCl4-promoted increases in lipid peroxidation at 3 h, but had an
enhancing effect of its own of small intensity. Results suggest that
early and late protective effects of NAC might be attributable to its
prior conversion to cysteine and glutathione.