Review Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Hepatic Diseases: Therapeutic Possibilities of N-Acetylcysteine Kívia Queiroz de Andrade 1, Fabiana Andréa Moura 1,2, John Marques dos Santos 3, Orlando Roberto Pimentel de Araújo 3, Juliana Célia de Farias Santos 2 and Marília Oliveira Fonseca Goulart 3,* Received: 10 October 2015; Accepted: 4 December 2015; Published: 18 December 2015 Academic Editor: Guido Haenen 1 Pós Graduação em Ciências da Saúde (PPGCS), Campus A. C. Simões, Tabuleiro dos Martins, 57072-970 Maceió, AL, Brazil;
[email protected] (K.Q.A.);
[email protected] (F.A.M.) 2 Faculdade de Nutrição/Universidade Federal de Alagoas (FANUT/UFAL), Campus A. C. Simões, Tabuleiro dos Martins, 57072-970 Maceió, AL, Brazil;
[email protected] 3 Instituto de Química e Biotecnologia (IQB), Universidade Federal de Alagoas (UFAL), Campus A. C. Simões, Tabuleiro dos Martins, 57072-970 Maceió, AL, Brazil;
[email protected] (J.M.S.);
[email protected] (O.R.P.A.) * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +55-82-98818-0463 Abstract: Liver disease is highly prevalent in the world. Oxidative stress (OS) and inflammation are the most important pathogenetic events in liver diseases, regardless the different etiology and natural course. N-acetyl-L-cysteine (the active form) (NAC) is being studied in diseases characterized by increased OS or decreased glutathione (GSH) level. NAC acts mainly on the supply of cysteine for GSH synthesis. The objective of this review is to examine experimental and clinical studies that evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory roles of NAC in attenuating markers of inflammation and OS in hepatic damage.