ACETYL CYSTEINE

Also known as: L-​Cysteine, N-​acetyl-, Cysteine, N-acetyl-, L-, (2R)-2Acetamido-3-sulfanylpropanoic acid, Acetadote, Asist (+14 more)

ACETYL CYSTEINE (CAS 616-91-1) is a cosmetic cosmetic ingredient functioning as Antioxidant, Skin Conditioning. EU Regulation 1223/2009 status: permitted. Industrial safety data is also available in the chemical safety database. Same-CAS public records also appear in industrial chemical safety and pharmaceutical data.

View industrial chemical safety profile for CAS 616-91-1 →

Auto-generated CPSR Part A draft with source citations
Function
Antioxidant, Skin Conditioning
Safety Rating
GOOD

Chemistry & Identifiers

Formula
C5H9NO3S
MW
163.2 g/mol
EC Number
210-498-3
PubChem CID
12035
IUPAC Name
(2R)-2-acetamido-3-sulfanylpropanoic acid
InChIKey
PWKSKIMOESPYIA-BYPYZUCNSA-N

Regulatory Status

EU EU Status permitted
US US Status restricted
US Notes CIR: SQ - IJT 36(Suppl. 1):17-56, 2017

For full compliance data across multiple jurisdictions, use the Substance Compliance tool.

ECHA REACH Registration

European Chemicals Agency REACH dossier and Substances of Very High Concern listing.

Registration Type
Full
Tonnage Band
10 - 100 tonnes
Substance Type
SUBSTANCE
SVHC Candidate
No

Expanded Jurisdictional Detail

Additional regulatory detail beyond the 7-jurisdiction summary: Saudi SFDA, Korea MFDS, ASEAN ACD, Japan/Korea, Brazil/India, and cross-jurisdictional restriction entries.

JPKR Japan/Korea Cosmetics
Korea (Prohibited): Acetylcysteine; must not be used

Additional Ingredient Properties

1 property record from structured ingredient metadata.

amino_acid
{"cas_number": "616-91-1", "ingredient_class": "amino_acid", "source_origin": "synthetic", "molecular_weight_range_Da": "163", "amino_acid_composition_key": "N_acetyl_cysteine", "charge_at_pH_5_5": "anionic", "water_solubility": "soluble", "oil_solubility": "insoluble", "film_forming_ability": "poor", "moisture_binding_capacity": "moderate", "NMF_component": "no", "skin_penetration_depth": "dermis…

Function Categories & List Membership

Cosmetic/Chemical Function Categories
Antioxidant Softener and conditioner

Expert Verdict

Expert safety assessment and concern-level summary for ACETYL CYSTEINE.

Regulatory Flags

cosing-sourced eu-permitted skin-conditioning antioxidant needs-enrichment

Known Synonyms

L-​Cysteine, N-​acetyl- Cysteine, N-acetyl-, L- (2R)-2Acetamido-3-sulfanylpropanoic acid Acetadote Asist Brunac Broncholysin (mucolytic) Cysteplus Exomuc N-Acetyl-(R)-cysteine Tixair Trom Acetylcysteine ACC Acetein component of Naxid EINECS 210-498-3 Mucolyticum Lappe Mucosil

Chemical Function

Antioxidant Softener and conditioner

Regulatory Lists

active_ingredient; animal_products; Europe; pharmaceutical; residue pharmaceutical pharmaceutical pharmaceutical Canada; pharmaceutical Canada; pharmaceutical Canada; consumer_product; Substances in Products - Canada (4/2014)

Cross-Vertical Safety Context

Same-CAS public records found in pharmaceutical data.

SOURCE ChEMBL / DrugCentral / FAERS DB_PHARMA CAS match

Pharmaceutical Data

Same-CAS rows from the pharmaceutical spoke database.

Compound
ACETYLCYSTEINE
ChEMBL ID
CHEMBL600
Max Phase
4
Adverse Event Associations
3000
View full pharmaceutical profile →

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ACETYL CYSTEINE safe in cosmetics?

ACETYL CYSTEINE has a safety rating of "GOOD" in our database. EU status: permitted. US status: restricted.

Is ACETYL CYSTEINE allowed in the EU?

ACETYL CYSTEINE EU regulatory status: permitted. This is based on EU Regulation 1223/2009 and its amendments.

What does ACETYL CYSTEINE do in cosmetics?

ACETYL CYSTEINE functions as: Antioxidant, Skin Conditioning. It is classified as a cosmetic ingredient in our database. CAS number: 616-91-1.

Is ACETYL CYSTEINE used outside cosmetics?

ACETYL CYSTEINE also appears in industrial chemical safety and pharmaceutical data. The cross-vertical cards on this page render same-CAS public rows from the matched databases.

Related Ingredients

2-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid
Excellent Same category
Softener and conditioner
3-Glyceryl Ascorbate
Excellent Same category
Antioxidant, Humectant, Skin Conditio...
Allantoin Ascorbate
Excellent Same category
Antioxidant, Skin Conditioning, Skin ...
Aloe Vera Extract
Excellent Same category
Skin Conditioning, Antioxidant
Althaea Officinalis Callus Culture Extract
Excellent Same category
Antioxidant, skin protectant
Amaranthus Caudatus Seed Oil
Excellent Same category
Emollient, skin conditioning, antioxi...
(ANGELICA ACUTILOBA/PAEONIA LACTIFLORA/REHMANNIA GLUTINOSA) ROOT/CNIDIUM OFFICINALE RHIZOME EXTRACT
Good Similar safety
Skin Conditioning, Skin Conditioning ...
(ANGELICA ACUTILOBA/PAEONIA LACTIFLORA/REHMANNIA GLUTINOSA/SCUTELLARIA BAICALENSIS) ROOT/(CNIDIUM OFFICINALE/COPTIS CHINENSIS) RHIZOME/GARDENIA JASMINOIDES FRUIT/PHELLODENDRON CHINENSE BARK EXTRACT
Good Similar safety
(ANGELICA GIGAS/GLYCYRRHIZA URALENSIS/REHMANNIA GLUTINOSA ROOT)/ANGELICA GIGAS STEM/CARTHAMUS TINCTORIUS FLOWER/(CARTHAMUS TINCTORIUS/PRUNUS PERSICA SEED)PORIA COCOS WATER
Good Similar safety
Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Pr...
(ARCTIUM LAPPA/CARROT/COLOCASIA ESCULENTA/DIOSCOREA BATATAS/GARLIC/GINGER/IPOMOEA BATATAS/NELUMBO NUCIFERA/ONION/POTATO BULBS)/(CHESTNUT/CITRUS UNSHIU/EGGPLANT/FIG/GRAPE/KIWI/LYCOPERSICON ESCULENTUM/MALUS PUMILA/MUME/PEACH/PLUM/PUMPKIN/PYRUS SEROTINA/RADISH/ZIZIPHUS JUJUBA FRUIT)/(ALLIUM TUBEROSUM/ALOE BARBADENSIS/ANGELICA UTILIS/BRASSICA OLERACEA ACEPHALA/CABBAGE/CELERY/SACCHARINA JAPONICA/UNDARIA PINNATIFIDA LEAF)/(ALLIUM FISTULOSUM/ENTEROMORPHA COMPRESSA/OENANTHE JAVANICA STALK)/LENTINULA EDODES/SUCROSE FERMENT FILTRATE
Good Similar safety
Humectant, Skin Conditioning - Humect...
(ASPERGILLUS/SACCHAROMYCES)/RICE FERMENT/BARLEY GRAIN MEAL/NELUMBO NUCIFERA FLOWER EXTRACT FERMENT EXTRACT FILTRATE
Good Similar safety
Bleaching
(ASTRAGALUS MEMBRANACEUS/GLYCYRRHIZA URALENSIS (LICORICE)/PANAX GINSENG) ROOT/AMOMUM XANTHIOIDES SEED/HORDEUM VULGARE SPROUT/ARALIA CORDATA/ACHYRANTHES JAPONICA EXTRACT
Good Similar safety
Skin Conditioning - Miscellaneous
1-Penten-3-ol
Moderate Chemical family
Fragrance
Citraconic Anhydride
Poor Chemical family
No specific technical function
Dimethyl Carbonate
Moderate Chemical family
Solvent

Is ACETYL CYSTEINE in Your Products?

Scan any product label with Piro — our free ingredient scanner. Point your camera at the ingredients list and get instant safety scores for every ingredient.

Try Piro Free →

Analyze Your Full Ingredient List

Paste any INCI list into the Decoder for instant safety analysis, or calculate the Margin of Safety for ACETYL CYSTEINE in your formulation.