The drug Assagix contained two active principles: a plant extract and a bromide derivative. The dried extract was prepared from the inflorescence (and bracts) of the plant Tiliae sylvestris laburnum, which should be named Tilia cordata Mill., the accepted botanical name in the official repository “The Plant List” (family Malvaceae). The main active ingredient was calcium bromolactobionate (also known as calcium bromo-galactogluconate, a molecule still in used (at least in France, Calcibronat®) for treating insomnia, irritability, and anxiety disorders. The marketed product, syrup Assagix®, was used as a mild tranquilizer in young children. The product was removed from the market in 1998.
The marketed name Assagix® likely refer to the French verb “assagir” which means to settle down. An evocative name for a drug intended to provide a neuro-sedative action.
