Ambroxol is a drug that is used in the treatment of respiratory diseases associated with viscid or excessive mucus.
Ambroxol is often administered as an active ingredient in cough syrup.
It is indicated for the secretolytic therapy in bronchopulmonary diseases associated with abnormal mucus secretion and impaired mucus transport.
It promotes mucus clearance, facilitates expectoration and eases productive cough, allowing patients to breathe freely and deeply.
Ambroxol is available as syrup, tablets, pastilles, dry powder sachets, inhalation solution, drops and ampules as well as effervescent tablets.
It also provides pain relief in acute sore throat.
The main property of ambroxol for treating sore throat is the local anaesthetic effect,
High-dose ambroxol, delivered via intravenous injection, reduces the mortality rate in paraquat poisoning.
Caution is suggested for patients with gastric ulceration, and usage during the first trimester of pregnancy is not recommended.
Ambroxol acts on mucus membranes, restoring the physiological clearance mechanisms of the respiratory tract.
It breaks up phlegm, stimulates mucus production, and stimulating synthesis and release of surfactant by type II pneumocytes.
Surfactant acts as an anti-glue factor by reducing the adhesion of mucus to the bronchial wall, in improving its transport and in providing protection against infection and irritating agents.
Ambroxol is a potent inhibitor of the neuronal Na+ channels, explaining its anaesthetic effect.
Demonstrated efficacy in relieving pain in acute sore throat, with a rapid onset of action, with its effect lasting at least three hours.
Ambroxol is also anti-inflammatory, reducing redness in a sore throat.
It reduces the release of inflammatory cytokines and histamines, and acts as an antioxidant, scavenging free radicals and hypochloric acid generated by neutrophils: explaining its effect in treating acute lung injury caused by paraquat.
Increases activity of the lysosomal enzyme glucocerebrosidase,and may be a useful therapeutic agent for both Gaucher disease and Parkinson’s disease.
It triggers exocytosis of lysosomes by releasing calcium from acidic cellular calcium stores.
The diffusion of ambroxol into lysosomes and lysosomal pH neutralization is most likely responsible for the mucolytic effects of the drug, but may also explain the reported activity in Gaucher and Parkinson’s disease.
Both ambroxol and its parent drug bromhexine have been shown to induce autophagy in several cell types.
It is shown to potentiate rifampicin therapy in tuberculosis.
It enhances lung levels of a wide range of antibiotics.
Ambroxol has not been approved in the USA by the Food and Drug Administration.