In this study, we employed a one-step emulsion process rather than the traditional, relatively difficult two-step process to obtain multiple phase emulsion systems containing the Chinese herbal medicine lithospermum. We characterized these systems in terms of their contact angles, surface tensions, fluorescence, and stability and analyzed them using polarized microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Our one-step emulsion process involved mixing lithospermum at various concentrations with three different emulsifiers to control the properties of the emulsion systems. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 117: 1041-1046, 2010