Mercapturic acids are condensation products formed from the coupling of cysteine with aromatic compounds.
[1][2] Mercapturic acids are formed as part of xenobiotic metabolism.
The adduct is then converted to the mercapturic acid: the γ-glutamate and glycine residues in the glutathione molecule are removed by gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and dipeptidases.
[3] Levels of mercapturic acids in urine may be used as an indicator of exposure to, e.g., ethylene dibromide,[4] acrylamide, and terbuthylazine.
The former is a compound word consisting of the stem mercaptur-, coming from mercaptan, and the suffix -ic, meaning "having the character of".