It is not always necessary to buy expensive medications to get rid of a cough. In the initial stages or in the absence of complications, you can get by with herbal preparations. They are also prescribed at the stage of after-treatment of cough. One such inexpensive and effective remedy is marshmallow syrup.
Composition, description of the medicine
Syrup is a liquid with a thick consistency. The color is from light to dark yellow, there is a weak specific herbal aroma.
Marshmallow cough syrup is produced by different manufacturers, so the bottle volume can be 95, 100, 125 or 150 ml. The bottles can be made of dark glass or polymer and will be placed in a box along with an annotation for the drug.
The main active ingredient of the drug is 2 g of dry extract of marshmallow roots, which contains 40% sucrose and 35% lactose, for a total of 1% glucose. The syrup also contains sodium benzoate, sucrose and purified water.
Some manufacturers use liquid marshmallow root extract as a base. Additional ingredients may include methyl parahydroxybenzoate and rhopyl parahydroxybenzoate, vitamin C.
Marshmallow syrup during pregnancy
Doctors often recommend marshmallow cough syrup for use by women who are expecting a baby. In this case, you cannot self-medicate and take the drug yourself; you must consult with a specialist about the benefits and harmful effects for the child. According to reviews from many pregnant women, syrup is a safe drug that is well absorbed in the stomach and removes toxins and microbes from the body.
They try not to take marshmallow root during pregnancy in the first trimester. An increase in coughing attacks can lead to tension in the uterus, resulting in hypertonicity. In the 2nd and 3rd trimester, syrup is prescribed with caution. In this case, the woman needs to take the medicine one tablespoon after diluting it in 100 ml of boiled water. According to the instructions, the frequency of administration is determined individually, but not more than three times a day.
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Mechanism of action
The syrup is one-component and belongs to the group of expectorants of plant origin. Has the following therapeutic effects:
- dilutes bronchial secretions;
- facilitates coughing;
- relieves inflammation in the bronchi and lungs.
The drug promotes the formation of a mucous film on the membranes of the upper respiratory tract. This film is of plant origin, has a therapeutic effect, and also provides a longer local effect of other pharmaceuticals.
Marshmallow syrup - indications for use
Marshmallow syrup has long been used in medicine. It is used to treat inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract. Preparations made from the root have a pronounced softening effect and effectively eliminate pain caused by the inflammatory process. The medicine can be used by patients of any age. According to the instructions, indications for the use of marshmallow syrup are the following respiratory diseases:
- laryngitis;
- bronchitis;
- tracheitis;
- pneumonia;
- tracheobronchitis;
- emphysema;
- whooping cough;
- bronchiectasis;
- bronchial asthma.
The beneficial properties of the herbal medicine are as follows:
- relieves local inflammation;
- has a mucolytic and expectorant effect (facilitates the removal of mucous mass);
- relieves swelling;
- activates recovery processes;
- may reduce the secretion of gastric juice.
Application regimens, dosages
The syrup is taken only internally, after dilution in warm water. Dosages depend on age:
- adults and children over 12 years old - one tablespoon added to half a glass of water. Take up to 5 times a day after meals;
- children under 12 years old – one teaspoon added to a quarter glass of water. Take up to 5 times a day after meals.
Duration of treatment is 1.5-2 weeks. Longer or repeated courses are possible after consulting a doctor.
Among the side effects, the manufacturer notes the possibility of allergic reactions. Exceeding recommended doses may cause nausea and vomiting. In this case, the medicine should be discontinued and the stomach should be rinsed.
Marshmallow syrup
Dosage form
Syrup
Composition per 1000 ml:
Active ingredient
: marshmallow roots extract – 25 g.
Excipients
: sodium benzoate – 5 g, sucrose (sugar) – 900 g, purified water – up to 1000 ml.
Description
A syrupy liquid from light yellow to yellowish-brown color, with a characteristic odor.
Pharmacotherapeutic group
Expectorant of plant origin.
ATX code
: R05CA05.
Pharmacological properties
It has a reflex expectorant and local anti-inflammatory effect, reduces the viscosity of bronchial secretions.
Indications for use
Diseases of the respiratory tract, accompanied by a cough with difficult to clear sputum (tracheitis, tracheobronchitis, bronchitis).
Contraindications
Increased individual sensitivity to the components of the drug.
Sucrase/isomaltase deficiency, fructose intolerance, glucose-galactose malabsorption.
Carefully
Patients with diabetes mellitus and those on a low-carbohydrate diet should always consult a doctor before using the drug.
Use during pregnancy and breastfeeding
Use during pregnancy and breastfeeding is possible if the expected benefit to the mother outweighs the potential risk to the fetus and child. You should consult your doctor.
Directions for use and doses
Inside:
Children under 12 years old - 1 teaspoon of syrup, previously diluted in 1/4 glass of warm water, 4-5 times a day after meals.
Children over 12 years of age and adults - 1 tablespoon of syrup, previously diluted in 1/2 glass of warm water, 4-5 times a day after meals.
The duration of treatment is 10-15 days. Increasing the duration and carrying out repeated courses of treatment is possible after consultation with a doctor.
If there is no improvement after treatment, or symptoms worsen, or new symptoms appear, you should consult your doctor. Use the drug only according to the indications, the method of administration and in the doses indicated in the instructions.
Side effect
Allergic reactions are possible.
If you experience the side effects listed in the instructions, or they get worse, or you notice any other side effects not listed in the instructions, tell your doctor.
Overdose
Symptoms: nausea, vomiting.
Treatment: drug withdrawal, gastric lavage.
Interaction with other drugs
It should not be used simultaneously with drugs containing codeine and other antitussive drugs, as this makes it difficult to cough up liquefied sputum.
special instructions
Information for patients with diabetes: 1 teaspoon (5 ml) contains 0.4 XE (bread units), 1 tablespoon (15 ml) contains 0 1.2 XE.
If, while using the drug, symptoms persist without improvement for more than 2 weeks or worsen, you should consult a doctor.
Impact on the ability to drive vehicles and machinery
The use of the drug does not affect the ability to perform potentially hazardous activities that require increased concentration and speed of psychomotor reactions (driving vehicles, working with moving mechanisms, working as a dispatcher, operator).
Release form
Syrup.
10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 90, 100, 125, 150, 200, 500 g of the drug in dark glass bottles sealed with polyethylene stoppers and screw-on plastic caps with/without a control strip for the first opening or sealed with closures polyethylene or polymer with/without a control strip of the first opening.
10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 90, 100, 125, 150, 200, 500 g of the drug in bottles, polymer jars sealed with polyethylene stoppers and screw-on plastic caps with/without a control strip for the first opening or sealed with means polyethylene or polymer closures with/without a first-opening control strip.
10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 90, 100, 125. 150, 200, 500 g of the drug in polyethylene terephthalate bottles sealed with caps with/without a control strip for the first opening or polymer screw caps.
A paper or self-adhesive label is attached to each bottle. Each bottle, jar, along with a plastic spoon or plastic measuring cup, along with instructions for medical use, is placed in a cardboard pack.
Storage conditions
In a place protected from light at a temperature not exceeding 25 ° C.
Keep out of the reach of children.
Best before date
2 years.
Do not use after the expiration date.
Vacation conditions
Available without a prescription.
Reception features
It is not recommended to take marshmallow syrup in parallel with medications containing codeine, as well as other drugs that suppress the cough reflex. Otherwise, the discharge of liquefied bronchopulmonary secretions will be difficult.
Patients with concomitant diabetes mellitus should take into account that one teaspoon contains 4.2 g of sucrose, a tablespoon - 16.8 g.
The medication does not affect attention or reaction speed, so it can be taken without fear by people driving vehicles, working with complex machinery, or engaging in hazardous activities.
Combination with sodium bicarbonate is allowed.
Marshmallow syrup for breastfeeding
Cough is not a reason to stop lactation. But women during breastfeeding should begin taking any drug only after consultation with a therapist and gynecologist to clarify possible contraindications. Marshmallow syrup during lactation, as well as licorice tincture, are the most popular means for softening and eliminating cough, because they are based on natural ingredients that do not affect the quality of milk. In this case, you can use diluted syrup no more than twice a day.
Collection, preparation and drying of marshmallow
The medicinal raw materials of marshmallow are the roots (Radix Althaeae).
They are harvested in the fall after the marshmallow stems have dried or in early spring. Harvesting should be carried out selectively, leaving up to 30% of marshmallow plants to restore the thickets.
If the harvesting rules are followed, marshmallow thickets are restored in 3-4 years, after which repeated harvesting is possible.
They dig up marshmallow roots with shovels, and in extensive thickets with plows. Then they are freed from the ground, the stems, capitate parts of the rhizomes and the main tap root of the marshmallow, usually woody and unsuitable for use, are removed. Non-lignified marshmallow roots are washed, slightly dried, cut into pieces 30-35 cm long (thick, fleshy ones are split lengthwise into 2-4 parts). To obtain purified raw materials, the gray plug is scraped off the marshmallow roots with a knife.
Immediately after processing, the raw materials are dried, laid out loosely in a thin layer on meshes or stretched panels.
Drying is best done with artificial heating in ventilated rooms or in special dryers at a temperature of 45-50 ° C and good ventilation. When marshmallow roots are dried in air, the raw material, which contains a lot of starch, usually quickly rots and becomes moldy. Well-dried roots break with a bang.
The shelf life of raw materials is 3 years.
The whole plant is odorless and tastes sweet and tart.
Medicinal properties of marshmallow
Marshmallow root is a typical representative of mucus-related medicines; in terms of the content of active compounds, it is almost equivalent to flax seeds in this regard.
Facilitates spontaneous tissue regeneration, reduces the inflammatory process.
Acting as a protector, it softens dense inflammatory plaque.
Has an expectorant effect.
An aqueous extract of marshmallow root, taken orally in a sufficiently large dose, has an enveloping effect on the gastric mucosa. Its protective effect is more effective and lasting, the higher the acidity of gastric juice, since the viscosity of mucus increases upon contact with hydrochloric acid released during gastric secretion.
Chemical composition of marshmallow
A large amount of mucous substances (up to 35%) were found in the roots of marshmallow, which mainly consist of polysaccharides that decompose during hydrolysis into galactose, arabinose, pentose and dextrose. In addition, marshmallow roots contain starch (up to 37%), pectin (10-11%), sugars, asparagine, betaine, carotene, lecithin, phytosterol, mineral salts and fatty oils (up to 1.7%). The leaves also contain mucus (up to 12.5%), essential oil (0.02%), rubber-like substances, ascorbic acid, and carotene. In flowers, the mucilage content reaches 5.8%.
The roots contain: ash - 8.65%; macroelements (mg/g): K - 11.30, Ca - 17.40, Mq - 4.00, Fe - 0.73; microelements (CBN): Mn - 0.10, Cu - 0.47, Zn - 0.25, Co - 0.10, Cr - 0.10, Al - 0.46, V - 0.29, Se - 5 .71, Ni - 0.15, Sr - 0.63, Pb - 0.05, I - 0.10. B - 0.20 µg/g. Mo, Cd, Li were not detected. Ag, Au, Ba, Br. Concentrates Fe, Se. Can accumulate Cr, V.
Contraindications
According to the instructions, the drug is not recommended for use for dry cough. This will only make his attacks worse. People with diabetes should take the medicine with caution. Such patients can take the drug only for medical reasons and under the supervision of a doctor. In addition, the contraindications of marshmallow syrup are:
- high sensitivity to the components of the drug;
- glucose-galactose malabsorption;
- fructose intolerance;
- enzyme deficiency - isomaltose or sucrose;
- allergy to the components of the drug.
In case of overdose, the following side effects may occur:
- vomit;
- nausea;
- allergies, which can manifest themselves in the form of itching and small rashes.
Description, reproduction and distribution area of marshmallow
Perennial herbaceous plant of the mallow family (Malvaceae), up to 150 cm high.
The marshmallow rhizome is short, thin, multi-headed, with a large woody main root and numerous fleshy and thick lateral roots.
There are several stems, rarely solitary, erect, cylindrical, weakly branched in inflorescences, dirty purple at the base, glabrous, strongly pubescent in the upper part.
The lower leaves of the marshmallow are round or kidney-shaped, usually dying by the time of flowering, the middle ones are round or ovoid, slightly lobed or almost entire, with a rounded or slightly heart-shaped base; the upper ones are solid, oblong-ovate, pointed. All leaves are unevenly crenate-toothed, weakly pubescent above, densely pubescent below.
Marshmallow flowers have a whitish or pink corolla and a double calyx. They are crowded together on short stalks, sitting on common peduncles, located in the axils of the upper leaves and forming a kind of spike-shaped inflorescence.
The marshmallow fruit is a flat, disc-shaped fractional polysperm, which in its mature state breaks down into 15-25 single-seeded, kidney-shaped fruitlets. The seeds are smooth, dark gray. Weight of 1000 seeds is 2.0-2.7 g.
Marshmallow blooms from the second year, in June - early August, the fruits ripen in August - October. Reproduces mainly by seeds.
Marshmallow is widespread in Ukraine, Belarus, the Caucasus, the Volga region, Central Asia, Eastern and Western Siberia.
Marshmallow grows in meadows, mainly solonetzic and solonchak, in floodplains of rivers, among thickets of bushes, along the banks of lakes, irrigation canals, and in steppe depressions.
There is information about the toxicity of marshmallow. Even in ancient times, marshmallow was known and valued as a medicinal plant. The name itself speaks of its medicinal properties (from the Greek althaea to heal).
Analogs
On pharmacy shelves today you can find several effective analogues of marshmallow syrup, which have similar indications for use and pharmacological effects on the body. Such products differ by country and manufacturing companies, dosage and concentration of substances. Before choosing any similar medication, you should consult a qualified specialist. The most famous analogues of marshmallow syrup:
- ACC;
- Septolete;
- Stodal;
- Combiflu Syrup;
- Doctor Mom;
- Wifitech;
- Gedelix;
- overslept;
- Mukaltin;
- Althea root;
- Phytopectol.
