Affiliation:
1. Girijananda Chowdhury University, Hatkhowapara, Azara, Assam, 781017, India
Abstract
Abstract:
Coughing and sneezing are the body’s reflexes to various acute and chronic respiratory
illnesses like asthma, COPD, lung cancer, etc.
:
Mucus is a sticky, gelatinous material produced by the mucus gland to protect the airways. Mucolytics,
antitussives and expectorants may help in treating hypersecretion of mucin that may lead to
cough, cystic fibrosis, asthma, and COPD. Mucolytics if given along with the drugs like corticosteroids,
albuterol sulphate, and levalbuterol HCl in asthma and for the management of COPD like
corticosteroids and bronchodilators, may help in loosening the viscosity of the mucus and clearing it
out.
:
Mucolytics can be synthetic or herbal in origin and work by one of the three processes, viz. enzymatic
degradation, disulphide bond cleavage and calcium chelation. Mucolytics breaks down mucin
structure and loosen the mucus, helping it to expel out from the body. Some examples of synthetic
mucolytics are Bromhexine and N-acetylcysteine. Herbal mucolytics have traditionally been used
for the treatment of cough by indigenous people of India. Malva sylvestris, Zizyphus vulgaris are
some of the examples of herbal mucolytics.
Publisher
Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.
Subject
Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine