Introduction

Potassium bromide (KBr) is a chemical compound isolated from the Mediterranean Sea in 1826[1]. KBr and other inorganic bromide salts produce sedative effects. Therefore, it was prescribed as an anxiolytic, sedative-hypnotic or antiepileptic agent. It is still indicated for the treatment of refractory seizures in children.

Uses

It is illegally used for material processing in the food industry. For example, oxygenated KBr is added to enhance the volume and mature the flour in the bakery. Indeed, it helps oxidize the sulfhydryl groups of the gluten into disulphide bridges and traps carbon dioxide in the dough. This improves the appearance and elasticity of the dough. Likewise, potassium bromate is a preservative to keep the concentrated fish paste. As such, brominated vegetable oil is frequently used as a clouding agent in soft drinks. Therefore, people may take different amounts of bromide from food products. Following the ingestion of bromide, it enhances GABA effects in the CNS, which can influence neurobehavioral processes like learning and memory.

Anticonvulsant drug

Potassium bromide may permit humans to decrease the dose level of the phenobarbital. Potassium bromide may also be used initially as the sole anticonvulsant drug. Its action is similar to phenobarbital in that it raises the threshold of neurons to seizure initiation. These effects are primarily mediated through the activation of the GABAA receptor. These receptors are ionotropic channels, which, upon activation, increase chloride permeation and cause hyperpolarization of neurons. This is the main cause of KBr-induced inhibitory effects in the CNS. However, KBr is reported to cause depression, weakness, fatigue, lethargy, coma and other symptoms related to CNS suppression. KBr was withdrawn from the pharmaceutical market because of low efficacy, adverse effects, and the discovery of more effective hypnotic and antiepileptic drugs[2].

Side effects

The side effects are similar to those observed with phenobarbital (i.e., sedation, polydipsia, polyphagia, mild paresis and ataxia in the pelvic limbs). Rarely aggressive behaviour has been related to the use of this drug. The long half-life of this drug has the advantage of allowing you to stop treatment with this drug all at once, permitting the blood level to decrease slowly on its own. It has the disadvantage that if side effects are observed and the drug is stopped, some time will be required before the clinical signs will resolve. If absolutely necessary, intravenous sodium chloride fluid supplementation can be administered to reduce the serum levels of bromide rapidly. The threat of bronchial asthma and pancreatitis in cats, along with less efficacy, has reduced the use of potassium bromide in this species.

References

[1] Faezeh Safdari, Ali Hosseini-Sharifabad, Mohammad Rabbani. “Effect of acute and long term potassium bromide administration on spatial working memory in rat.” Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences 12 2 (2017): 154–159.

[2] Potassium Bromide - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/potassium-bromide