bromhexine bromhexine bromhexine is a mucolytic drug used in the treatment of respiratory disorders associated with viscid or excessive mucus. it was developed in the research laboratory of boehringer ingelheim in the late 1950s as an active ingredient for pharmaceutical use, patented in 1961, introduced in 1963 under the trademark of bisolvon® and came into medical use in 1966. bromhexineclinical dataahfs/drugs.cominternational drug namespregnancycategory a (aus) atc coder05cb02 (who) legal statuslegal status in general: over-the-counter (otc) pharmacokinetic databioavailability75–80%elimination half-life12 hridentifiers iupac name 2,4-dibromo-6-aniline cas number3572-43-8 ypubchem cid2442drugbankdb09019 nchemspider2348 yuniiq1j152vb1pkeggd07542 ychebichebi:77032 nchemblchembl253376 ycomptox dashboard (epa)dtxsid6022686 echa infocard100.020.622 chemical and physical dataformulac14h20br2n2molar mass376.136 g·mol−13d model (jsmol)interactive image smiles brc1cc(c(n)c(br)c1)cn(c)c2ccccc2 inchi inchi=1s/c14h20br2n2/c1-18(12-5-3-2-4-6-12)9-10-7-11(15)8-13(16)14(10)17/h7-8,12h,2-6,9,17h2,1h3 ykey:ojgdcblyjghcih-uhfffaoysa-n y ny (what is this?) (verify) function bromhexine is intended to support the body's mechanisms for clearing mucus from the respiratory tract. it is secretolytic, increasing the production of serous mucus in the respiratory tract, which makes the phlegm thinner and less viscous. this contributes to a secretomotoric effect, allowing the cilia to more easily transport the phlegm out of the lungs. 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 broncholyte elixir cofdex duro-tuss chesty/forte dysolvon flegamina movex mucolyte paxirasol robitussin chesty/forte solvex vasican ventilate forte (combination of bromhexine and salbutamol)