Carminative - Remedies and Carminative Drugs

Carminativi: What are they?

The term carminative is reserved for all those drugs or drugs capable of limiting the formation and especially the stagnation of gas at the gastro-intestinal level, favoring its expulsion from the stomach and from the intestine.

Causes Gas Formations

The formation of gas in the digestive tract is favored by the intake of particular foods, such as carbonated drinks and legume seeds, but also by incorrect eating habits (see aerophagia, lactose intolerance and dissociated diet).

Gas stagnation causes annoying disorders - such as frequent eruptions, dyspepsia, intestinal colic, flatulence and meteorism - that can be alleviated by taking carminatives.

Carminativi: What are they?

Cumin, anise and fennel are typical carminative drugs, which act by regulating the contracting capacity of the digestive tract and possess antimicrobial activity (gases represent the normal consequence of bacterial fermentation of foods, in particular of sugars and fibers).

Other plant drugs with carminative action are angelica, mint (its spasmolytic activity is famous), lemon balm, chamomile and naturally mixtures of more drugs with a carminative effect; combinations of essential oils are often used, which promote gastric secretion and promote intestinal motility, and dry extracts, which tend to reduce it.

Vegetable carbon and kaolin do not facilitate the elimination of gases but their adsorption; finally, the simethicone acts by reducing the tensions of the gases at the gastro-intestinal level, favoring their coalescence and elimination above all through eruption.