Bromhexine is a

mucolytic Mucoactive agents are a class of pharmacologic agents that include expectorants, mucolytics, mucoregulators, and mucokinetics that can affect the volume, viscosity, transportation, and composition of mucus or sputum. They often aid in clearing ...

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 gr ...

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 fluid, serous and muc ...

. 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 (1861–1939) in Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany. As of 2018, Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the world's List of la ...

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 ...

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 conducting air to the alveoli for the purposes of gas exchange in mammals. The respiratory tract is lined with respiratory epithelium as respirato ...

. 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 throat nasal passages. It often refers to respiratory mucus expelled by coughing, otherwise known as ...

thinner and less

viscous Viscosity is a measure of a fluid's rate-dependent resistance to a change in shape or to movement of its neighboring portions relative to one another. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of ''thickness''; for example, syrup h ...

. This contributes to a secretomotoric effect, allowing the

cilia The cilium (: cilia; ; in Medieval Latin and in anatomy, ''cilium'') is a short hair-like membrane protrusion from many types of eukaryotic cell. (Cilia are absent in bacteria and archaea.) The cilium has the shape of a slender threadlike proj ...

to more easily transport the phlegm out of the

lungs The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart. Their function in the respiratory syste ...

. 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 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 * Bromifar * Broncholyte Elixir * Bronkris * Cofdex * Duro-Tuss Chesty/Forte * Dysolvon * Flegamina * Movex * Mucohexin * Mucolyte * Paxirasol * Robitussin Chesty/Forte * Solvex * Vasican * Ventilate Forte (combination of bromhexine and salbutamol)

References

{{Cough and cold preparations Antidotes Expectorants Anilines Bromobenzene derivatives Cyclohexyl compounds