Study on the extraction and drying of Ramulus cinnamomi in Xieyu capsule

Objective To screen the optimal extract process for Ramulus cinnamomi in Xieyu capsule and study on the the concentrated extract and drying method. Methods The extraction process of Ramulus cinnamomi was optimized by orthogonal design with the concentration and amount of ethanol and extraction time as factors,and the comprehensive score was used to optimize the extraction condition with extractive yield and the content of cinnamaldehyde and cinnamic acid as index. Vaccum rotary evaporation and atmospheric water bath concentration were compared,and the temperature of concentration was investigated to deal with the extract of Ramulus cinnamomi with the content of cinnamaldehyde and cinnamic acid as index. The drying method was optimized to compare the Oven-drying method,vaccum drying method and freeze-drying method with the extraction rate and the transfer rate of cinnamaldehyde and cinnamic acid as index. Results The optimal extraction procedure was as follows: Ramulus cinnamomi was extracted two times with 70% alcohol whose volume was 8 times as much as the volume of the extracted medicinal material,and Ramulus cinnamomi was refluxed for 2. 0 h each time. The better effect of concentration was vaccum rotary evaporation,and the best temperature of concentration was 35-40 ℃. The optimal drying method was freeze-drying method with a higher the transfer rate of cinnamaldehyde and cinnamic acid. Conclusion The experimental results provide the basis for the extraction process and the drying process of the cinnamaldehyde and cinnamic acid in Ramulus cinnamomi.