Yuxiang Chen1, Sam K C Chang2, Jing Chen3, Qiang Zhang4, Haiye Yu4. 1. College of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130022, China. Electronic address: chen@jlu.edu.cn. 2. Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion, Mississippi State University, MS 39762, United States. 3. Logistics College, Beijing Wuzi University, Beijing 101149, China. 4. College of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130022, China.
Abstract
Large amounts of medicinal herbal residues (MHR) are produced in the world annually due to the increasing demand for herbal products. In this study, vermicomposting was used to stabilize MHR. Four inoculating density of earthworms was studied, specifically, 0 (W1), 60 (W2), 120 (W3) and 180 (W4) earthworms per kilogram of substrate. The C:N ratios of vermicomposts in W2, W3 and W4 were less than 20 by the end of the first week, while the value for W1 was 30.92. This indicates that earthworms promote the stabilization of MHR. In the initial stage, richness and diversity of the microbial community decreased due to earthworm inoculation, and then began to increase. The dominant phyla were Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Basidiomycota and Ascomycota in the substrates. The abundance of the dominant phyla varied according to earthworm density, indicating that earthworms change the microbial composition. The results suggest that MHR can be stabilized by vermicomposting.
Large amounts of medicinal herbal residues (MHR) are produced in the world annually due to the increasing demand for herbal products. In this study, vermicomposting was used to stabilize MHR. Four inoculating density of earthworms was studied, specifically, 0 (W1), 60 (W2), 120 (W3) and 180 (W4) n class="Species">earthworms per kilogram of substrate. The C:N ratios of vermicomposts in W2, W3 and W4 were less than 20 by the end of the first week, while the value for W1 was 30.92. This indicates that earthworms promote the stabilization of MHR. In the initial stage, richness and diversity of the microbial community decreased due to earthworm inoculation, and then began to increase. The dominant phyla were Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Basidiomycota and Ascomycota in the substrates. The abundance of the dominant phyla varied according to earthworm density, indicating that earthworms change the microbial composition. The results suggest that MHR can be stabilized by vermicomposting.