Background: To date, there has not been sufficient experimental evidence to demonstrate the pharmacological effect of secretolytic and mucolytic drugs.
Methods: Scintigraphic studies to detect the mucociliary clearance in the maxillary sinus before and after application of the secretolytic drug Gelomyrtol forte were performed on four healthy persons and one patient after sinus surgery. The most important parameter was the mucociliary transport velocity of the "region of interest-maxillary sinus" and the increase of radioactivity accumulated in a tampon placed in the middle meatus of the nose. Measurements were done with a gamma-camera, 99 m Technetium-sulphurcolloid was used as the radiopharmacentical. A dose of 1 MBq in 0.2 ml NaCl-solution was injected into the maxillary sinus.
Results: The results show a clear increase of mucociliary transport velocity in the maxillary sinus after intake of secretolytics in connection with an increase of radioactivity in the tampon.
Discussion: The results can be explained by the secretolytic and secretomotoric effects of the investigated drug.
Conclusion: The study reveals that ethereal oils have secretolytic effects and also have a pharmacological effect on the mucociliary apparatus.