Carbocisteine, also called carbocysteine, 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 ...

that reduces the viscosity of sputum and so can be used to help relieve the symptoms of

chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by long-term respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. The main symptoms include shortness of breath and a cough, which may or may not produce mu ...

(COPD) and

bronchiectasis Bronchiectasis is a disease in which there is permanent enlargement of parts of the bronchi, airways of the lung. Symptoms typically include a chronic cough with sputum, mucus production. Other symptoms include shortness of breath, hemoptysis, co ...

by allowing the sufferer to bring up

sputum Sputum is mucus that is coughed up from the lower airways (the trachea and bronchi). In medicine, sputum samples are usually used for a naked eye examination, microbiological investigation of respiratory infections and cytological investigations ...

more easily. Carbocisteine should not be used with

antitussive Cold medicines are a group of medications taken individually or in combination as a treatment for the symptoms of the common cold and similar conditions of the upper respiratory tract. The term encompasses a broad array of drugs, including a ...

s (cough suppressants) or medicines that dry up bronchial secretions. It was first described in 1951 and came into medical use in 1960. Carbocisteine is produced by

alkylation Alkylation is the transfer of an alkyl group from one molecule to another. The alkyl group may be transferred as an alkyl carbocation, a free radical, a carbanion, or a carbene (or their equivalents). Alkylating agents are reagents for effecting ...

cysteine Cysteine (symbol Cys or C; ) is a semiessential proteinogenic amino acid with the formula . The thiol side chain in cysteine often participates in enzymatic reactions as a nucleophile. When present as a deprotonated catalytic residue, sometime ...

with

chloroacetic acid Chloroacetic acid, industrially known as monochloroacetic acid (MCA), is the organochlorine compound with the formula ClCH2CO2H. This carboxylic acid is a useful building block in organic synthesis. It is a colorless solid. Related compounds ...

References

{{Cough and cold preparations Dicarboxylic acids Expectorants Thioethers Amino acid derivatives