Bromhexine is a

mucolytic Mucoactive agents are a class of chemical agents that aid in the clearance of mucus or sputum from the upper and lower airways, including the lungs, bronchi, and trachea. Mucoactive drugs include expectorants, mucolytics, mucoregulators, and mucok ...

drug used in the treatment of

respiratory The respiratory system (also respiratory apparatus, ventilatory system) is a biological system consisting of specific organs and structures used for gas exchange in animals and plants. The anatomy and physiology that make this happen varies grea ...

disorders associated with viscid or excessive

mucus Mucus ( ) is a slippery aqueous secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes. It is typically produced from cells found in mucous glands, although it may also originate from mixed glands, which contain both serous and mucous cells. It is ...

. It was developed in the research laboratory of

Boehringer Ingelheim C.H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. is the parent company of the Boehringer Ingelheim group, which was founded in 1885 by Albert Boehringer in Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany. As of 2018, Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical ...

in the late 1950s as an active ingredient for pharmaceutical use,

patented A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

in 1961, introduced in 1963 under the trademark of Bisolvon® and came into medical use in 1966.

Function

Bromhexine is intended to support the body's mechanisms for clearing

from the

respiratory tract The respiratory tract is the subdivision of the respiratory system involved with the process of respiration in mammals. The respiratory tract is lined with respiratory epithelium as respiratory mucosa. Air is breathed in through the nose to th ...

. It is secretolytic, increasing the production of

serous In physiology, serous fluid or serosal fluid (originating from the Medieval Latin word ''serosus'', from Latin ''serum'') is any of various body fluids resembling serum, that are typically pale yellow or transparent and of a benign nature. The fl ...

mucus in the respiratory tract, which makes the

phlegm Phlegm (; , ''phlégma'', "inflammation", "humour caused by heat") is mucus produced by the respiratory system, excluding that produced by the nasal passages. It often refers to respiratory mucus expelled by coughing, otherwise known as sputum ...

thinner and less

viscous The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its resistance to deformation at a given rate. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of "thickness": for example, syrup has a higher viscosity than water. Viscosity quantifies the inter ...

. This contributes to a

secretomotoric The adjective secretomotor refers to the capacity of a structure (often a nerve) to induce a gland to secrete a substance (usually mucus or serous fluid). Secretomotor nerve endings are frequently contrasted with sensory neuron endings and motor n ...

effect, allowing the

cilia The cilium, plural cilia (), is a membrane-bound organelle found on most types of eukaryotic cell, and certain microorganisms known as ciliates. Cilia are absent in bacteria and archaea. The cilium has the shape of a slender threadlike projecti ...

to more easily transport the phlegm out of the

lungs The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of th ...

. For this reason it is often added to cough syrups. It has been shown to increase the proportion of serous bronchial secretion, making it more easily expectorated. It is indicated as "secretolytic therapy in bronchopulmonary diseases associated with abnormal mucus secretion and impaired mucus transport". Bromhexine is contained in various formulations, high and low strength syrups 8 mg/5 ml, 4 mg/5 ml, tablets and soluble tablets (both with 8 mg bromhexine) and solution for oral use 10 mg/5 ml, adapted to the need of the patients. The

posology Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...

varies with the age and weight, but there are products for all age groups from infant on. Bromhexine is well established and tolerated.

Brand names

* Barkacin * Benadryl Chesty/Forte * Bisolvon * Brofentol * Brofentol Plus * Bromex * Bromhexin * Broncholyte Elixir * Cofdex * Duro-Tuss Chesty/Forte * Dysolvon * Flegamina * Movex * Mucolyte * Paxirasol * Robitussin Chesty/Forte * Solvex * Vasican * Ventilate Forte (combination of bromhexine and salbutamol)

References

{{Cough and cold preparations Antidotes Expectorants Anilines Organobromides Cyclohexyl compounds