Objective: To screen the extraction process of volatile oil in Supplemented Xanthium Powder.Methods: The main compositions of volatile oil contained by every herb in prescription were followed up by GC MS. Results: The extraction process of volatile oil in Supplemented Xanthium Powder was established, that is, Flos Magnoliae and Cortex Moutan Radicis were powdered, their volatile oils were extracted with Herba Menthae together by the steam distillation; then 13 fold first fraction of distillata and 3 fold redistillation liquid were collected respectively; the volatile oil of Rhizoma Liqustici Chuanxiong was extracted with alcohol. Inasmuch as Fructus Xanthii and Radix Angelicae Dahuricae contained less volatile oil, at the same time, to avoide that Fructus Xanthii produced toxicity by water extraction and coumarinic lactones of Radix Angelicae Dahuricae was destroyed their oils were considered unfit for extraction. Conclusion: GC MS is a useful way for follow up optimization of the extraction process of volatile oil in compound prescription of Chinese medicinal and worthy of popularization.

Objective:To analyze the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients with brucellosis.Methods:Medical records of confirmed brucellosis patients ( n = 101) were collected from January 2015 to December 2022 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. Patients were divided into acute phase group (≤3 months, n = 89) and non acute phase group (> 3 months, n = 12) according to the course of the disease. The epidemiological characteristics, clinical symptoms, laboratory indicators, treatment plan and curative effect of the patients were analyzed retrospectively. Results:Data of a total of 101 cases of brucellosis were collected, including 72 males and 29 females. The disease occurred throughout the year, with summer (June to August) being the peak period (43.56%, 44/101); 72.28% (73/101) cases had a clear history of contact with animal. Ninety-two point zero eight percent (93/101) of the patients visited the Department of Infectious Diseases for the first time. Clinical manifestations included fever, accounting for 82.18% (83/101), chills accounting for 36.63% (37/101), backache accounting for 33.66% (34/101), night sweats accounting for 22.77% (23/101), and arthralgia accounting for 20.79% (21/101). The symptoms of backache (75.00%, 9/12) and arthralgia (41.67%, 5/12) were more common in patients in the non acute phase group than those of the acute phase group [28.09% (25/89), 17.98% (16/89), P < 0.05]. The most common laboratory test abnormal items were elevated C-reactive protein (CRP, 68.32%, 69/101), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR, 61.39%, 62/101), aspartate aminotransferase (AST, 58.42%, 59/101), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT, 48.51%, 49/101). Elevated ESR (66.29%, 59/89) was more common in patients in the acute phase group than that of the non acute phase group [25.00 (3/12), χ 2 = 7.48, P = 0.006]. All patients were treated with a combination therapy, with a recovery rate of 100.00% (101/101). Conclusions:Brucellosis patients are more common in males, with a higher incidence in summer and often accompanied by a history of contact with animal. The clinical manifestations are diverse and non-specific.