Object To provide a basis for the identification and quality control of the crud drugs of Costus L.. Methods Morphological and histological characters of the rhizomes of Costus spectosus (Koen.) Smith, Costus lacerus Gagnep.and Costus tonkinensis Gagnep. were described and illustrated, respectively. TLC of the above drugs was finished. Microscopical characters of the epidemis of leaves of these species were also compared. Results The characters involving the vessel order in vascular bundle ring at the inner side of pericycle in the transverse section, calcium oxalate crystals occurred in the vessel, the characteristic calcium oxalate crystals in the cortex and cork cell and the TLC qualitative analysis for diosgenin, etc. are important for identification of Costus L.. Conclusion These three crude drugs can be identified by the above research results.

AIM To establish the quality standard for Tibeten medicine Ershiwuwei Feibing Pills [Inula racemosa Hook.f.,Swertia bimaculata (Sieb.et Zucc.) Hook.Thors.ex Clarke,Phyllanthus emblica Linn.,Terminalia billerica (Gaertn.) Roxb.,etc.].METHODS TLC was applied to the qualitative identification of L racemosa,S.bimaculata,P.emblica and T.billerica,and HPLC was adopted in the quantitative determination of alantolactone,oleanolic acid,gallic acid and hydroxysafflor yellow A.RESULTS The TLC spots were clear without negative interference.Alantolactone,oleanolic acid,gallic acid and hydroxysafflor yellow A showed good linear relationships within the ranges of 4.324-216.2 μg/mL (r =0.999 9),32.222-1 611.1 μg/mL (r =0.999 9),4.072-203.6 μg/mL (r =0.999 9) and 4.266-213.3 μg/mL (r =0.999 9),whose average recoveries (RSDs) were 100.6％ (0.93％),100.3％ (2.1％),101.5％ (3.0％) and 100.1％ (1.8％),respectively.CONCLUSION This simple method can be used for the rapid quality control of Ershiwuwei Feibing Pills.

Objective To evaluate the status of home medication safety among elderly patients with chronic diseases and analyze its influencing factors in urban and rural areas of Henan Province.Methods Convenient sampling method was adopted.Data was collected through a designed and optimized questionnaire.Pharmacists conducted in-home surveys.Excel and SPSS 26.0 software were used for data analysis.Results A total of 352 valid questionnaires were analyzed.Most respondents were aged 60～70 years,with a female proportion of 56.2%,and 52.0%of them had a junior high school education or lower.The top-ranked chronic diseases were hypertension(62.2%)and hyperlipidemia(33.2%),and 61.1%of patients suffered from multiple chronic diseases.Antipyretic and analgesic drugs were most common in home medicine cabinets(90.1%).The proportion of drugs being stored in accordance with the instructions(46.9%)was slightly low,and 93.8%of the elderly handled expired drugs improperly.Awareness of medication guidance services was low(34.9%).Logistic regression analysis showed that factors such as education level and monthly income had significant effects on the understanding of drug package insert,rational drug storage,proper disposal of expired drugs,and awareness of medication guidance services(P<0.05).Conclusion There are still some potential safety risks in the home medication use of elderly patients with chronic diseases in urban and rural areas of Henan Province.It is necessary to enhance education on drug storage and medication guidance,particularly for low-income and less-educated groups,to improve the safety of home medication use.