Natural cough remedies: options for a rational choice

Abstract

This work summarizes the current understanding of the mechanisms providing mucociliary clearance and their disorders in respiratory diseases. It is noted that currently the understanding of the drainage function of the respiratory tract and cough formation in bronchopulmonary pathology has significantly expanded, and therefore much attention is paid to the search for opportunities to correct these parts of pathogenesis. The use of drugs improving sputum rheology and decreasing inflammatory mucosal edema are of great importance in this aspect. The article summarizes the data on the possibilities of pathogenetic correction of respiratory disorders with the emphasis on the use of expectorants and mucolytic drugs made from herbal raw materials. For many of them a sufficiently rich clinical experience has been accumulated, and modern manufacturing techniques have significantly increased their quality and safety. The mucolytic and expectorant properties of modern herbal remedies are in many cases as good as those of synthetic drugs. An important feature of herbal remedies is that they contain a combination of many components with a complex therapeutic effect, whereby the quality of herbal remedies is ensured by the most modern manufacturing control mechanisms. The paper reflects the main therapeutic effects of herbal remedies, which depend on the plant species and are determined by their content of biologically active substances: alkaloids, glycosides (including anthraglycosides, cardiac glycosides, saponins, flavonoids), phytoncides, essential oils, coumarins, tannins, resins, etc. The results of own observations on the use of herbal remedies in routine clinical practice are presented. The high adherence of patients to the use of herbal syrups and drops based on ivy extract in the therapy of cough syndrome in adults and children is shown.