Expectorants

chemical compound

thumb|upright=1.8|Wood railroad ties before (right) and after (left) infusion with creosote, being transported by railcar at a facility of the [[Santa Fe Railroad, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in March 1943. This U.S. wartime governmental photo reports that "The steaming black ties in the [left of photo]... have just come from the retort where they have been infused with creosote for eight hours." Ties are "made of pine and fir... seasoned for eight months" [as seen in the untreated railcar load at right].]]

Mesna, sold under the brand name Mesnex among others, is a medication used in those taking cyclophosphamide or ifosfamide to decrease the risk of bleeding from the bladder. It is used either by mouth or injection into a vein.

Bromhexine, sold under the brand name Bisolvon among others, 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.

Guaifenesin, also known as glyceryl guaiacolate, sold under the brand name Mucinex, among others, is an expectorant medication taken by mouth and marketed as an aid to eliminate sputum from the respiratory tract. Chemically, it is an ether of guaiacol and glycerine. It may be used in combination with other medications. A 2014 study found that guaifenesin does not affect sputum volume in upper respiratory infections (the upper respiratory system includes most breathing parts above the lungs). It has been alleged to work in 2023 by making airway secretions more liquid.

Ambroxol is a drug that breaks up phlegm, used in the treatment of respiratory diseases associated with viscid or excessive mucus. Ambroxol is often administered as an active ingredient in cough syrup.

Carbocisteine, also called carbocysteine, is a mucolytic that reduces the viscosity of sputum and so can be used to help relieve the symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) and bronchiectasis by allowing the sufferer to bring up sputum more easily. Carbocisteine should not be used with antitussives (cough suppressants) or medicines that dry up bronchial secretions.

agent that aids in the clearance of mucus from the airways, lungs, bronchi, and trachea

chemical compound

Erdosteine is a molecule with mucolytic activity. Structurally it is a thioether derivative with two thioether groups. These two functional organosulfur groups contained in the molecule are released following first-pass metabolism with the conversion of erdosteine into its pharmacologically active metabolite Met-I (N-thiodiglycolyl-homocysteine).

group of stereoisomers

Sobrerol is a mucolytic.

Tipepidine (INN; also known as tipepidine hibenzate (JAN); brand names Asverin, Antupex, Asvelik, Asvex, Bitiodin, Cofdenin A, Hustel, Nodal, and Sotal) is a synthetic, non-opioid antitussive and expectorant of the thiambutene class. It acts as an inhibitor of G protein-coupled inwardly-rectifying potassium channels (GIRKs). The drug was discovered in the 1950s, and was developed in Japan in 1959. It is used as the hibenzate and citrate salts.

Tyloxapol is a nonionic liquid polymer of the alkyl aryl polyether alcohol type. It is used as a surfactant to aid liquefaction and removal of mucopurulent (containing mucus and pus) bronchopulmonary secretions, administered by inhalation through a nebulizer or with a stream of oxygen.