Wood extractives consist of a great variety of different compounds and differ from species to species. The chemical composition of the extractives from many wood species are only partially known.
In the presented study, the nine tropical wood species Bangkirai (Shorea laevis), Ipé Noir (Handroanthus spp.), Itaúba (Mezilaurus itauba), Jatoba (Hymenea coubaril), Massaranduba (Manilkara bidentata), Merbau (Intsia spp.), Muiracatiara (Astronium graveolens), and Pequia (Caryocar villosum) are examined. Attention is focused on isolation and separation of their extractives as well as on testing the extractives for their bioactivity against two wood degrading fungi. The objective is to elucidate whether the principals behind the durability of the wood can be attributed to specific extractives.
To achieve this goal, two methodological approaches were adapted to wood for the first time. Initially, a specific isolation procedure called foam fractionation was used to isolate, separate, and accumulate in particular saponins. The results showed the applicability of the method to wooden materials, but the conditions of the experiments have to be adjusted to the targeted extractives of the wood species. It was observed that it is suitable to extract saponins rapidly, without the need to separate them from other extractives. However, compared to conventional water extraction, it is not an alternative to a comprehensive analysis of water extractable compounds. At present, foam fractionation can be applied to wood species that contain sufficient amounts of surface-active substances to be „self-foaming“. However, for a more versatile application, the method needs to be further refined. Optimization of various process parameters, the application of surfactants other that tested, as well as techniques like the tweezing technique offer potentials to adapt the foaming process to the specific wood extractive chemistry.
Secondly, an agar-overlay bioautography for basidiomycete fungi was successfully implemented using Rhodonia placenta and Trametes versicolor. The homogenized hyphae recovered rapidly from the treatment and the added vital stain contributed with a clear visible assignment of the inhibition zones containing antifungal agents. The combination enables a more rapid method for the investigation of bioactive wood extracts, providing isolation and identification of possible key substances against microbial attack. This might accelerate the elucidation of potential structures, for example for biocidal, pharmaceutical or chemical uses. However, the method has to be seen as a possibility for a rapid insight into lesser-known extractives mixtures.
Results from both methods unfolded possible contributions of the extractives to the durability of some of the tested wood species. In Massaranduba (Manilkara bidentata) urosolic acid, hederagenin and quillaic acid and in Pequia (Caryocar villosum) oleanolic acid and hederagenin were identified from foam fractionation. They are obviously present as saponins, which are known to be bioactive in many cases. For Muiracatiara (Astronium graveolens), Merbau (Intsia spp.), Bangkirai (Shorea laevis) and Itauba (Mezillaurus itauba) in most of the bioactive zones of the bioautography several known fungicidal compounds were identified. This can be rated as a proof of principle, with prominent examples like gallic acid, catechin and resveratrol. Furthermore, the isoquinoline alkaloids bicuculline and norbicuculline were detected, which have not been described in Mezilaurus itauba yet.
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Wood extractives consist of a great variety of different compounds and differ from species to species. The chemical composition of the extractives from many wood species are only partially known.
In the presented study, the nine tropical wood species Bangkirai (Shorea laevis), Ipé Noir (Handroanthus spp.), Itaúba (Mezilaurus itauba), Jatoba (Hymenea coubaril), Massaranduba (Manilkara bidentata), Merbau (Intsia spp.), Muiracatiara (Astronium graveolens), and Pequia (Caryocar villosum) are exami...
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