Medicinal Residues Research Articles

Life Cycle Assessment of Biochar Preparation of Chinese Traditional Medicine Residue by Low-temperature Pyrolysis

This study aimed to evaluate the environmental impacts of the biochar production process through low-temperature pyrolysis of Chinese medicine residue via life cycle assessment (LCA). An LCA model consisting of biomass pretreatment, pyrolysis, separation and cooling was developed. The results indicated that the low-temperature pyrolysis process has the highest environmental impact on AP and GWP. The consumption and direct emission of pyrolysis process were the primary sources of environmental impact. In addition, by comparing to the traditional landfill process of Chinese medicine residue, it turns out that the low-temperature pyrolysis process has improved environmental protection performance.

Hydrogen production via in-line pyrolysis-reforming of organic solid waste enhanced by steel slags

Steel slag derivates prepared from waste steel slag using acid leach method, are employed to promote hydrogen production from organic solid waste by in-line pyrolysis-steam reforming of Chinese medicine residues (CMR). The optimum pyrolysis conditions are determined during the fast pyrolysis experiment of CMR (Tprolysis = 800 °C, FN2 = 200 mLSTP/min). During in-line pyrolysis-reforming of CMR with steel slag derivates, for example CaO(SS)-50 wt%LR compounds, as reforming catalyst, the hydrogen yield is profoundly increased from 7.57 mmol/gCMR (pyrolysis operation) to 11.49 mmol/gCMR, while tar yield has been reduced 30.50%. FeOx in LR remarkably increases lattice oxygen and adsorption oxygen in NCA-LR or NCA-LR-CaO(SS) compounds, so tar and CO conversion are efficiently improved while coke deposition on catalyst surface is significantly reduced. LR is demonstrated to be able to act as or partially alternate nickel-based catalyst during steam reforming of pyrolysis gas, which would greatly reduce the cost of hydrogen production from OSWs.

Structural Characterization of Polysaccharides Isolated from Panax notoginseng Medicinal Residue and Its Protective Effect on Myelosuppression Induced by Cyclophosphamide.

This study aims to establish the isolation and purification method of polysaccharides from medicinal residue of Panax notoginseng (PPN). The structure and protective effect of PPN on myelosuppression mice were investigated. One neutral polysaccharide (NPPN) and five acidic polysaccharides (APPN I, APPN II-A, APPN II-B, APPN III-A, and APPN III-B) were obtained. The results confirmed that NPPN, APPN I and APPN II-A are glycan with 1, 4 main chains. APPN III-A is a glycan. APPN II-B and APPN III-B are homogalacturonan pectin with 1, 4 main chains. This study demonstrated that NPPN played a bone marrow protective role in myelosuppression mice induced by cyclophosphamide. NPPN could relieve cell cycle arrest, reduce the apoptosis rate of marrow cells, and improve granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating (GM-CSF), thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) and erythropoietin (EPO) serum level, which contributes to promoting the proliferation of hematopoietic cells.

Technical report on handling occurrence data for dietary exposure assessments

EFSA has the mandate to collect data on the occurrence of chemicals in food and feed in relation to various domains (i.e. contaminants, food additives, pesticide residues and veterinary medicinal product residues (VMPRs)) at the level of the European Union. National food authorities, research institutions, academia, food business operators and other stakeholders submit data to EFSA in the SSD2 (Standard Sample Description version 2) format. A crucial prerequisite for reliable dietary exposure and risk assessments is that the occurrence data are harmonised and accurate. Quality issues, inconsistencies or incomplete information may have a considerable impact on the accuracy of the dietary exposure assessments carried out for EFSA’s scientific outputs, especially when these data have been collected from different countries and institutions. Considering that exposure assessment is a critical component of risk assessment, the present report proposes guidance for the resolution of the issues that affect the occurrence data. Although primarily intended for the use of EFSA exposure assessors dealing with cleaning and further adjustments of the occurrence data in relation to contaminants in food and feed, food additives and pesticides residues levels in food, it can be applied by any exposure assessor dealing with the assessment of dietary exposure to food chemicals. The following most commonly occurring issues that can affect the occurrence data used for dietary exposure assessments were identified: sampling strategy, pooled samples, country of origin, date of sampling, analytical method not available, issues related to limit of detection/quantification, data below detection capability, recovery, occurrence data expressed differently than on whole weight, qualitative occurrence data, conversion factors and occurrence data on ‘grains as crops’. The report is designed to introduce these issues and to provide practical instructions on an appropriate approach to address those that are identified during the cleaning and preparation of chemical occurrence data that are being used to estimate dietary exposure.

Three pillars of Varroa control

The beekeeping sector is facing many challenges. One of the greatest is maintaining healthy colonies that produce high-quality products without any residues of veterinary medicines and with low environmental impact. The main enemy is the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor, the most significant honeybee pest and a key factor in high colony losses worldwide. In the previous four decades, three pillars of Varroa control have crystallized to be essential for sustainable management: apitechnical measures, chemical treatments, and resistant stocks of honey bees. In the long term, the latter is probably the most sustainable as it is a step to self-sustaining populations of feral and managed colonies. We recognize the significance of progress in knowledge of all three pillars to conquer Varroa and of their successful usage in accordance with local and global conditions and capabilities. In this review, we present a possible integration of the components of the three pillars of Varroa control strategies in the light of sustainable beekeeping and provide their linkage to the production of high-quality and safe honeybee products and maintaining healthy colonies.

Co-Pyrolysis Behavior of Coal Slime and Chinese Medicine Residue by TG-FTIR-MS with Principal Component Analysis and Artificial Neural Network Model

ABSTRACT In this study, co-pyrolysis experiments were carried out by blending coal slime (CS) and traditional Chinese medicine residue (CMR) in different proportions under nitrogen atmosphere using thermogravimetry-Fourier infrared spectroscopy-mass spectrometry (TG-FTIR-MS). Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) and Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) were used to calculate the activation energy (E) of samples with different conversion rates (α). The PCA method was used to analyze and compare the contribution of samples with different blending ratios to the principal components, and draw its score and load graph. A variety of artificial neural network models composed of different network topologies are selected to simulate and predict the remaining mass of the CS and CMR mixture pyrolysis, and the optimum model is obtained.

Removal of chlortetracycline from water by Bacillus cereus immobilized on Chinese medicine residues biochar

Biochar-immobilized microorganism technology is an effective way to remove antibiotic contamination from water bodies. In this study, three common Chinese medicine residues (forsythia, erding and honeysuckle) were selected as raw materials for pyrolysis at different temperatures. The biochar obtained was used as a carrier to immobilize the highly efficient chlortetracycline-degrading bacterium Bacillus cereus LZ01 and analyze the complex’s removal characteristics and removal mechanism chlortetracycline. The results showed that the Chinese medicine residue biochar pyrolyzed at 500 °C had a higher removal capacity for chlortetracycline and could adsorb more microorganisms. The erding medicine residue biochar (EBC-500) pyrolyzed at 500 °C possessed a more developed pore structure and suitable nutrients. And the alkalinity of EBC-500 had the effect of relieving the inhibition of bacteria by acid, providing more suitable living conditions for the growth of bacteria, and improving the removal of chlortetracycline. Orthogonal experiments determined the optimal conditions for microbial immobilization by biochar: 10% microbial inoculum, 0.5 g biochar dosage, 0.097 - 0.15 mm biochar particle size, and 36 h immobilization time. The FT-IR spectra showed that the complex integrated all functional groups of biochar and degrading bacteria. The comparison of the removal effect before and after inactivation revealed that the removal mechanism of chlortetracycline in water by the complex was mainly determined by a combination of microbial degradation and biochar surface adsorption. This study provides a method for preparing an efficient biochar–microbial complex using Chinese medicine residue waste substrate, which provides a new idea for removing chlortetracycline from water.

Simultaneous Determination of Multiple Veterinary Medicine Residues in Chicken and Eggs by UHPLC-MS/MS

Simultaneous Determination of Multiple Veterinary Medicine Residues in Chicken and Eggs by UHPLC-MS/MS

Evolutionary genomics and biosynthetic potential of novel environmental Actinobacteria.

Actinobacteria embroil Gram-positive microbes with high guanine and cytosine contents in their DNA. They are the source of most antimicrobials of bacterial origin utilized in medicine today. Their genomes are among the richest in novel secondary metabolites with high biotechnological potential. Actinobacteria reveal complex patterns of evolution, responses, and adaptations to their environment, which are not yet well understood. We analyzed three novel plant isolates and explored their habitat adaptation, evolutionary patterns, and potential secondary metabolite production. The phylogenomically characterized isolates belonged to Actinoplanes sp. TFC3, Streptomyces sp. L06, and Embleya sp. NF3. Positively selected genes, relevant in strain evolution, encoded enzymes for stress resistance in all strains, including porphyrin, chlorophyll, and ubiquinone biosynthesis in Embleya sp. NF3. Streptomyces sp. L06 encoded for pantothenate and proteins for CoA biosynthesis with evidence of positive selection; furthermore, Actinoplanes sp. TFC3 encoded for a c-di-GMP synthetase, with adaptive mutations. Notably, the genomes harbored many genes involved in the biosynthesis of at least ten novel secondary metabolites, with many avenues for future new bioactive compound characterization-specifically, Streptomyces sp. L06 could make new ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides, while Embleya sp. NF3 could produce new non-ribosomal peptide synthetases and ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides. At the same time, TFC3 has particularly enriched in terpene and polyketide synthases. All the strains harbored conserved genes in response to diverse environmental stresses, plant growth promotion factors, and degradation of various carbohydrates, which supported their endophytic lifestyle and showed their capacity to colonize other niches. This study aims to provide a comprehensive estimation of the genomic features of novel Actinobacteria. It sets the groundwork for future research into experimental tests with new bioactive metabolites with potential application in medicine, biofertilizers, and plant biomass residue utilization, with potential application in medicine, as biofertilizers and in plant biomass residues utilization. KEY POINTS: • Potential of novel environmental bacteria for secondary metabolites production • Exploring the genomes of three novel endophytes isolated from a medicinal tree • Pan-genome analysis of Actinobacteria genera.

Re-utilization of Chinese medicinal herbal residue: waste wormwood rod-derived porous carbon as a low-cost adsorbent for methyl orange removal.

A cost-effective approach was applied to prepare porous carbon samples by the simple carbonization of wormwood rod followed by salt activator (NaCl) activation. The effect of preparation parameters on the characteristics of the wormwood rod-based porous carbons (WWRs) were studied. The properties of these samples were investigated by SEM, BET surface area, X-ray diffraction, FT-IR spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectrometer. The prepared WWRs were applied as new adsorbent materials to remove methyl orange (MO). The experimental results indicated that WWR-800 activated at 800 °C possesses the best adsorption performance. Several factors that affected the adsorption property of the system such as the solution pH, dosing of adsorbent, initial dye concentration and ionic strength were examined. In addition, the thermodynamic parameters and kinetic parameters of MO with WWR-800 were studied. The results indicated that the adsorption of MO on WWR-800 was an endothermic process and non-spontaneous under standard conditions. The maximum equilibrium adsorption capacity of MO on WWR-800 was 454.55 mg/g. After five adsorption/desorption cycles, the adsorption capacity of MO on WWR-800 remained at 94%, which indicated that wormwood rod-based porous carbon possessed good reusability.

Oxy-fuel and air atmosphere combustions of Chinese medicine residues: Performances, mechanisms, flue gas emission, and ash properties

This study aims to quantify the combustion performances, mechanisms, and ash characteristics of Chinese medicine residues (CMR) in the air and oxy-fuel atmospheres. The CMR combustion underwent water loss (<150 °C) and the decomposition of the main organic components (150–560 °C). The CMR combustion performed better in the air than 8-2/CO2-O2 atmosphere experimentally, as was also evidenced by the joint optimization based on artificial neural network. The rising oxygen fraction of the three oxy-fuel atmospheres improved the oxy-fuel combustion performance by 76.7%. The air atmosphere led to a higher activation energy at the start (275.15 kJ/mol) and end (520.91 kJ/mol) of the main reaction, while the oxy-fuel atmosphere resulted in a higher activation energy of 400.22 kJ/mol with the conversion degree of 0.7. Its reaction mechanism followed the sequence type (Fn) and changed from F3 to F2 in the 8-2/CO2-O2 atmosphere and from F2.4 to F2.5 in the air atmosphere and flue gas functional groups included CO2, H2O, C=O, and C-(O)H. The oxy-fuel atmosphere was more prone to slagging than the air atmosphere. The ash in the oxy-fuel atmosphere was easily formed calcium carbonate and calcium hydroxyphosphate.

Investigation on cogasification and melting behavior of ash-rich biomass solid waste and Ca-rich petrochemical sludge pyrolysis residue in CO2 atmosphere

The process of gasification coupled with melting is an effective technology that can realize the clean disposal of hazardous solid wastes. In this study, the gasification and melting characteristics of Chinese medicine residue (CMR) and pyrolysis residue of petrochemical sludge (PRPS) blends were investigated. The gasification residues obtained at different gasification temperatures and with variant blend ratios (mass ratio of CMR to PRPS) were evaluated. Results demonstrated that the melting degree of gasification residues was proportional to gasification temperature, presenting as four distinct morphologies: the CaO-rich powder-like (1100 °C), the gehlenite-rich black-gray hemispherical (1200 °C), virid amorphous crystal (1300 °C), and transparent vitrified SiO2 (1400 °C). Especially, as increasing the content of CMR, the gasification and melting characteristic was promoted, which were related to energy resource attributes of CMR and supply of low-melting eutectic constituent elements. In addition, when the gasification temperature was 1300 °C, the mineral composition of gasification residues gradually transformed from Ca–Si–Al compounds into amorphous matter as increasing CMR content. Moreover, while the blend ratio further attained to 3:1, gasification residues appeared as distributed globules and syngas productivity was enhanced to 0.99 L/g. The leachability of heavy metals inside the melting slags could meet the established criteria, indicating the harmless disposal of hazardous wastes.

Re-utilization of Chinese medicinal herbal residues improved soil fertility and maintained maize yield under chemical fertilizer reduction

Excessive utilization of chemical fertilizers (CF) is not a sustainable agricultural development strategy due to adverse effects on soil health. In contrast, a combination of organic and mineral fertilizers has a positive effect on both soil health and productivity. Chinese medicinal herbal residues (CMHR) is the plant material wastes remaining after drug extraction but has not been extensively used as fertilizer. We evaluated application of CMHR to maize fields over 3 consecutive growing seasons in the presence and absence of standard CF to assess improvements in soil fertility, maize yields and sustainable development. CMHR fertilization increased soil organic matter and total N and K when mixed with chemical fertilizer at 50 and 75% the standard application rate. Soil organic matter increased by 27.0–51.4% and available –N, -P and -K levels and grain yields as well as N and P use efficiency in the presence of CMHR mixes were similar to levels obtained with chemical fertilizer only. These increases in production were due to increased leaf areas, photosynthetic rates, grain number and 1000-grain weights. The addition of CMHR to fields posed a slightly risk of toxic-metal pollution. Overall, we found that (1) CMHR can be used as an effective organic fertilizer and replace up to 50% of the amount of chemical fertilizer normally applied to fields without hampering maize grain yields and (2) CMHR application to agricultural fields is an effective recycling strategy and nutrient management practice to improve soil fertility under CF usage reduction.

In-situ fermentation with gellan gum adding to produce bacterial cellulose from traditional Chinese medicinal herb residues hydrolysate

In this study, bacterial cellulose was synthesized by Taonella mepensis from traditional Chinese medicinal herb residues hydrolysate. To overcome the inhibitory effect of fermentation environment, in-situ fermentation with gellan gum adding was carried out for the first time. After 10 days' static fermentation, both high-acyl gellan gum and low-acyl gellan gum adding showed certain beneficial effects for bacterial cellulose production that the highest bacterial cellulose yield (0.866 and 0.798 g/L, respectively) was 59% and 47% higher than that (0.543 g/L) without gellan gum adding. Besides, gellan gum based bacterial cellulose showed some better texture characteristics. Gellan gum was loaded in the nano network of bacterial cellulose, and gellan gum adding had some influence on the crystal structure and thermal degradation behaviors of bacterial cellulose but affected little on its functional groups. Overall, this in-situ fermentation technology is attractive for bacterial cellulose production from low-cost but inhibitory substrates.

Simultaneous removal of ammonium and phosphate in aqueous solution using Chinese herbal medicine residues: Mechanism and practical performance

Excessive ammonium (NH4+) and phosphate (PO43−) in aquatic environments can cause serious eutrophication. Agricultural waste is an efficient adsorbent for nutrients removal and has good potential for comprehensive utilisation of resources. In this study, two Chinese medicinal herbal residues, Rhizoma Typhonium Gigantei (ZB) and Radix Glycyrrhizae Preparata (ZG), were implemented to simultaneously remove NH4+ and PO43− from water. Parameters such as adsorbent dosage, solution pH, contact time and initial concentration that influenced the adsorption process onto adsorbents, along with removal mechanism and practical performance were investigated. The microstructure of ZB was irregular with numerous spherical particles, while ZG displayed an uneven flaky structure with few rough grooves. The nutrients adsorption was significantly influenced by pH. The maximum adsorption capacity by ZB was 91.84 N mg g−1 and 71.81 P mg g−1. In addition, the maximum adsorption capacity recorded by ZG was 100.86 N mg g−1 and 89.51 P mg g−1 (pH, 8.0; dosage, 0.2 g L−1; initial concentration, 60 mg L−1; and contact time, 180 min, for both the herbal residues). The adsorption of NH4+ and PO43− was well described by the pseudo-second-order and intra-particle diffusion models, respectively. The Langmuir isotherm model is the best fit model for the adsorption equilibrium data, suggesting monolayer adsorption of NH4+ and PO43− by the two adsorbents. In addition, NH4+ was predominantly adsorbed by electrostatic attraction, ion exchange and complexation, whereas PO43− was predominantly adsorbed by intra-particle diffusion and ligand exchange. Practical application analysis demonstrated that ZG could remove and recover more NH4+ and PO43− from swine wastewater than ZB. Therefore, ZG exhibited a more significant potential to simultaneously remove and recover NH4+ and PO43− from wastewater.

Removal of chlortetracycline from water by immobilized Bacillus subtilis on honeysuckle residue–derived biochar

Biochar-immobilized microorganism technology is an effective way to remove antibiotic contamination in aqueous solutions. In this study, the effect and mechanism of immobilization of Bacillus subtilis by honeysuckle residue–derived biochar for the removal of chlortetracycline (CTC) were investigated using corn straw biochar as a comparison. The biochar’s structural characteristics and properties were determined using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometer, Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer, specific surface area, and pore size analyzer. It was found that honeysuckle residue–derived biochar had a well-developed pore structure, which provided adequate living space for microorganisms. The removal rate of CTC (50 mg/L) by honeysuckle residue biochar-microbial complex (HBCM) was 15.31% higher than that of corn straw biochar-microbial complex, indicating that HBCM was an excellent carrier. The mechanism of CTC removal by HBCM was a synergistic effect of biochar adsorption and microbial degradation. The removal process of HBCM material was carried out for 3 days at an optimum substrate concentration of 50 mg/L, an ambient temperature of 35 °C, a solution pH of 7, and the addition of 5 g/L complexes, achieving a removal rate of 78.35%. In addition, the complex possessed high storage stability and could be reused three times continuously and efficiently. This study provides a method for preparing an efficient biochar-microbial complex using Chinese medicine residue waste substrate, which provides a new idea for removing CTC from water.

Drug Residues in Foods of Animal Origin and Their Impact on Human Health: Review

The safety of human food is threatened by various agents including pathogenic microorganisms, and antimicrobial agents. Antibiotics are natural products of a micro-organism, or similar semi-synthetic products that inhibit the growth or destroy microorganisms. Residues of veterinary medicines are defined as pharmacologically active substances, principles, or degradation products and their metabolites, which remain in foodstuffs obtained from animals that have been administered the veterinary medicine. The most common causes for the presence of antibiotic residues in food of animal origin are violation of withdrawal periods, overdosing of antibiotics and use of inaccurate routes of administration of drugs. Drug residues concentrations vary from tissue to tissue and are generally observed to be higher in tissues of storage such as body fat or in organs that actively metabolize and excrete them. Probably the most common way milk is contaminated by penicillin is through intra-mammary infusion of the drug in the treatment of mastitis. The presence of antibiotics or their metabolites in food is potentially hazardous to health as it may cause allergic reactions in people and antibiotic resistance in pathogenic microorganisms. Some antibiotics like streptomycin, neomycin and gentamicin has been reported to cause damage to the kidney and to hearing. Allergic reaction to the human body mostly resulted from β-Lactam antibiotics. Anaphylactic reactions are reported to result from consumption of beef or pork containing penicillin. Drugs in which their residues induce cancer in humans or consumers are: nitrofurans, nitroimdazoles, etc. Antibiotics are invariably administered to dairy cattle, but their indiscriminate use, without adequate technical and veterinary control, can lead to a series of negative consequences at all levels of the dairy productive chain. Many antibacterial and anticoccidial drugs are licensed for use in poultry for treatment of enteric and respiratory disease. Potential adverse effects of drugs that appear as residues in food animals are: carcinogenic, allergic, toxic, neurologic disorder and microbiological effects. Keywords: Drugs, Drug residue, Food, Human DOI: 10.7176/FSQM/108-02 Publication date: May 31 st 2021

Physico-chemical characteristics and the adsorption of ammonium of biochar pyrolyzed from distilled spirit lees, tobacco fine and Chinese medicine residues

This paper investigates the physico-chemical characteristics of biochar from three specific waste materials including distilled spirit lees (DSL), tobacco fine (TF) and Chinese medicine residue (CMR) prepared by pyrolysis at 450℃, 550℃ and 650℃. All produced biochars were further analyzed for their ability to adsorb ammonium with initial concentrations of 0−500 mg·L−1. Results showed that all biochars mainly consist of C and O, and possess highly-porous morphology features with pore size of 2.029–6.731 nm. With same feedstock, carbonized DSL, TF and CMR at 650℃ has largest specific surface area of 6.293 m² g−1, 57.485 m² g−1 and 14.668 m² g−1 respectively. The positions of the infrared peaks of biochar derived from same feedstock are similar, but the intensity of some peaks has changed. With same feedstock, DSL450/550, TF650, and CMR450 biochar showed the best performance for ammonium removal with an adsorption capacity of 10.3199–11.8906, 10.4603–13.3511 and 23.2558-24.1546 mg g−1 respectively. The adsorption progress of ammonium by DSL biochar could be well described by both Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherm, while the progress of TF biochar and CMR biochar was best described by Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm respectively. The fitted results indicate that the adsorption process of NH4+-N by both DSL biochar and TF biochar are uniform monolayer adsorption on the surface, but the adsorption of CMR biochar is mainly in the heterogeneous adsorption mode of multi-molecular layers. In sum, the experiment that was performed as well as the parameters used proved to be feasible for DSL biochar, TF biochar and CMR biochar production as adsorbing medium.

Combined coagulation/decantation-ozone/hydrogen peroxide-biological aerated filter process for advanced treatment of bio-treated leachate from Chinese herbal medicine residue

To reach discharge limit, further treatment of bio-treated leachate from Chinese herbal medicine residue (BLCHMR) was very imperative. In this study, performance of combined coagulation/decantation-ozone/hydrogen peroxide (O3/H2O2)-biological aerated filter (BAF) technology used to further treat BLCHMR was investigated with pilot-scale experiment. Under optimal conditions, the COD (40-44 mg/L) and color (13-17 time) in treated BLCHMR indicated that combined process can efficiently treat BLCHMR. O3/H2O2 had good performance not only in mineralization and decomposing of organic matter but also in decolorization of BLCHMR. For dissolved organic matter (DOM), O3/H2O2 reacted with non-biodegradable fraction preferentially and oxidized different molecular weight (MW) fractions equally. O3/H2O2-BAF generated more higher MW DOM (namely F2 fraction) than BAF alone. Meanwhile, O3/H2O2 mainly influenced the amount and biodegradability on DOM but not the removal rate on DOM. Accordingly, the helpful influence on O3/H2O2 perhaps can be owed to the generalized influence on DOM but not the specific influence on improved biodegradability. Finally, inspiring (namely very low) cost (respectively, 0.3419 $/per ton bio-treated leachate and 0.5766 $/Kg COD removed) was achieved in the combined process.

Development of a compound microbial agent beneficial to the composting of Chinese medicinal herbal residues

This study was aimed at developing a compound microbial agent to facilitate the composting of Chinese medicinal herbal residues (CMHRs). Different microbial agents were inoculated into a mixture of CMHRs, sheep manure, and biochar and composted for 42 days. The results demonstrated that the compound microbial agent (K1 + P1 + N4) inoculated in T1 can extend the thermophilic period during composting. Compared with control check (CK), the total nutrient contents of the vaccinated groups increased by 5.45–28.54%, and T1 had the highest value. The total organic carbon degradation rate and germination index of T1 were 1.95 and 1.03 times higher than those of the control. Moreover, significant increases in the abundance and diversity of the microbial community were also found in T1. Consequently, using K1 + P1 + N4 as a microbial agent for the composting of CMHRs is recommended, and this research provides a new idea to solve the problem of waste of CMHRs.