Antifungal and antitermitic activities of wood vinegar from Vitex pubescens Vahl

Antifungal and antitermitic activities of wood vinegar produced from Vitex pubescens were evaluated. Three kinds of wood vinegar were produced at three different pyrolysis temperatures, i.e. at 350, 400 and 450 °C. A PDA dilution method was employed to assay antifungal activity of the vinegars with a white-rot fungus Trametes versicolor and a brown-rot fungus Fomitopsis palustris. Termiticidal activity and repellent effect were evaluated by a no-choice test and a choice test with Reticulitermes speratus and Coptotermes formosanus. All wood vinegars exhibited antifungal activity against both fungi. Wood vinegar of 450 °C had the higher activity than those of 400 and 350 °C. It was assumed that acid component contributed to the increase in controlling the growth of fungal. The wood vinegar exhibited antitermite activity to both R. speratus and C. formosanus workers in the no-choice experiment. However, it needed relatively high concentration to obtain the perfect mortality. For instance, the wood vinegar of 10 % concentration was needed to achieve 100 % mortality against C. formosanus, whereas for R. speratus only 3 % of wood vinegar was required. In the direct-choice experiment, wood vinegar had a significantly repellent effect to both termites at the lowest treating concentration of 10 %.     

Development of boards made from oil palm frond II: properties of binderless boards from steam-exploded fibers of oil palm frond

Binderless boards were prepared from steam-exploded fiber of oil palm(Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) frond at six levels of explosion conditions. Their properties were investigated and evaluated. The mechanical properties (i.e., modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, and internal bonding strength) of the boards increased linearly with increasing board density as the usual hardboard. The boards made from fibers treated under a steam explosion condition of 25 kgf/cm² (steam pressure) and 5 min (digestion period) exhibited the maximum strength. These boards at a density of 1.2 g/cm³ met the requirement of S-20 grade of JIS A 5905 — 1994 (fiberboard). Thickness swelling of the boards ranged from 6% to 14% under the JIS A 5908 — 1994 (particleboard) test condition and showed no significant changes with increasing board density. The main bonding strength of the board is believed to be due to a ligninfurfural linkage. Considering the chemical components of oil palm frond, which is rich in hemicellulose, there seems to be a good possibility for producing binderless boards using steam-exploded fibers of oil palm frond.This study was presented in part at the 2nd International Wood Science Seminar, Serpong, Indonesia, November 1998     

对棕榈油生产贸易现状及产业发展的思考

自进入21世纪以来,我国已经成为最大的棕榈油进口国,棕榈油的消费量的快速增长使得其已经成为我国植物油供给的重要组成部分.我国不少企业认识到油棕榈产业的良好大战前景,积极投入其中.现结合油棕榈产业规划的相关经验,对全球棕榈油发展现状进行总结,并提出我国油棕榈产业发展的基本思路.     

Termiticidal activity of wood vinegar, its components and their homologues

The termiticidal activity of wood vinegar, its components, and their homologues have been studied. Three kinds of wood vinegar made from the mixed chips ofCryptomeria japonlca andPseudotsga menziesii (wood vinegar A),Quercus serrata (wood vinegar B), andPinus densiflora (wood vinegar C) exhibited high termiticidal activities againstReticulitermes speratus. Acetic acid, which is the largest content of wood vinegar, exhibited high termiticidal acitivity. The contents of organic fraction of wood vinegars and acetic acid might be responsible for the differences in termiticidal activities among these wood vinegars. The structure and termiticidal activity relations of phenols were studied. Phenol with some substituents revealed higher termiticidal activity than benzene derivatives, which have no hydroxyl group; an ortho substituent of phenol plays an important role in termiticidal activity. It has become apparent that high termiticidal activity cannot be obtained by a phenolic hydroxyl group alone; it can be obtained, however, by some substituents, especially an ortho substituent in addition to a phenolic hydroxyl group. The bulkiness of the substituent at the ortho position participates in termiticidal activity; activity decreases as the size of an ortho substituent increases. It is thought that the interaction at the receptor site of termites is affected by the increased size of the ortho substituent.     

Isolation and characterization of proline/betaine transporter gene from oil palm

Oil production from oil palm is adversely affected by drought and salt. Under drought and salt stress, proline content increases in oil palm; the mechanism for this is unknown. Here, an 8319-nucleotide sequence including cDNA, genomic DNA and the promoter region of proline transporter gene from oil palm Elaeis guineensis was determined. The transporter gene exhibited high similarity to Bet/ProT genes from several plants, but the highest homology was found with rice ProT1. The exon-intron structure of genomic DNA was unique, and numerous stress-response cis-elements were found in the promoter region. Expression of cDNA EgProT1 in Escherichia coli mutant exhibited uptake activities for glycinebetaine and choline as well as proline. Under salt-stressed conditions, exogenously applied glycinebetaine was taken up into the root more rapidly than the control. These data indicate that oil palm has a unique Pro/T1 gene. Nucleotide sequence data for the cDNA and genomic DNA of proline transporter gene from Elaeis guineensis are available in the DDJB database under accession numbers AB597035 and AB597036, respectively.     

Antifungal activity of essential oils isolated from Egyptian plants against wood decay fungi

The essential oils of eighteen Egyptian plants were extracted by hydrodistillation and their chemical compositions were analyzed by GC-MS. The antifungal activity of the isolated oils was evaluated against two wood decay fungi Hexagonia apiaria and Ganoderma lucidum in vitro. The essential oil of Artemisia monosperma showed the highest inhibitory effect against H. apiaria (EC₅₀ = 31 mg L^?1) and G. lucidum (EC₅₀ = 53 mg L^?1). The results of in vitro tests indicated that the essential oils of Cupressus sempervirens, Citrus limon, Thuja occidentalis, Schinus molle, A. monosperma and Pelargonium graveolens were the most potent inhibitors against both fungi. These six oils caused significant reduction of wood mass loss of Scots pine sapwood after 6 weeks of fungal exposure. The oil of C. limon revealed the highest reduction of wood mass loss caused by H. apiaria, while A. monosperma oil displayed the highest reduction of wood loss caused by G. lucidum. These results support the potential use of essential oils for wood protection against decay fungi.     

Environment-friendly short-term protection of palm wood against mould and rot fungi

Felled palm trunks are susceptible to fungi as long as their moisture content is above fibre saturation. During this period, palm wood has to be protected against mould and rot fungi. The study was aimed at testing environment-friendly organic acids for their protecting efficiency. Small samples of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) and oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) wood were treated with weak organic acids and subsequently infected by moulds and wood-decay fungi. Short dipping of the samples in solutions of 5% acetic acid and propionic acid, respectively, protected all samples for two months from colonization by Aspergillus niger, Penicillium sp., Cladosporium sp. and by a natural infection. Boric acid (4%) used in practice for protection was ineffective. Decay tests with the white-rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus, the brown-rot species Coniophora puteana and the soft-rot fungus Chaetomium globosum showed that both acids prevented most samples from fungal colonization for three weeks and reduced the decay considerably during two months.     

Manufacture and properties of oil palm frond cement-bonded board

This study was designed to reveal the role of the cement/wood ratio in a hydration test of wood-cement mixtures. The compatibility of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq) fronds-cement mixtures was tested in the hydration test, with the addition of magnesium chloride as an accelerator at different water/cement ratios. To prove the findings on the hydration behavior of components, the cement-bonded boards were manufactured using a conventional cold-pressing method at different cement/wood ratios. Results indicated that the optimum weight ration of cement/wood increased with decreasing wood powder size based on the equal specific surface area ratio of cement/wood in the hydration test and board manufacturing. The addition of magnesium chloride improved the compatibility of oil palm fronds with cement; the compatibility factor (C _A) increased by more than 90% with the addition of 5% magnesium chloride. TheC _A factor increased proportionally with a higher magnesium chloride content and a higher water/ cement ratio. The addition of magnesium chloride also enhanced the cement hydration and ultimate board strength properties. However, the addition of 5% magnesium chloride did not improve the properties of boards sufficiently at a cement/wood ratio of 2.21.0.     

Immunomodulatory activities of fractions from hot aqueous extract of wood from Clausena excavata

The effects of fractions from hot aqueous extract, acetone extract and the folklore preparation of Clausena excavata were studied on mouse splenocyte proliferation. The fractions of hot aqueous and acetone extracts were found to be the most active. On the contrary, the fractions from the crude folklore preparation resulted less active. This result could partly explain the popularity of this plant in folk medicine as a remedy for cancer and HIV patients in the eastern part of Thailand.     

Evaluation of biological activities of extracts from 22 African tropical wood species

Heartwoods of 22 African tropical wood species were extracted with methanol and the contents of total phenolic compounds in these extracts were measured. Three bioassays were conducted to evaluate the antioxidant activity, tyrosinase inhibitory activity, and antifungal activity of the methanol extracts. The results indicated that the extracts from 13 species exhibited high antioxidant potential, and their inhibitory concentrations that caused 50% scavenging of the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical (IC₅₀) were less than 10 μg/ml. The crude extract from Cylicodiscus gabunensis showed the highest antioxidant activity, and was even higher than that of (+)-catechin, which is known as a potent antioxidant. There was a good correlation between the antioxidant activity and the content of total phenolic compounds, indicating that phenolic compounds played a predominant role in the antioxidant property of the wood extracts. Among all 22 species, only 1 species, Milicia excelsa, contained extractives that showed very high tyrosinase inhibitory activity. The extracts from 9 species showed high antifungal activity. No consistent relationship was observed between the tyrosinase inhibitory activity or antifungal activity and the content of total phenolics in the extracts. Part of this article was presented at the 56th Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Akita, August 2006     

Tradeoffs between hydraulic and mechanical stress responses of mature Norway spruce trunk wood

We tested the effects of growth characteristics and basic density on hydraulic and mechanical properties of mature Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) wood from six 24-year-old clones, grown on two sites in southern Sweden differing in water availability. Hydraulic parameters assessed were specific hydraulic conductivity at full saturation (ks100) and vulnerability to cavitation (Psi50), mechanical parameters included bending strength (sigma b), modulus of elasticity (MOE), compression strength (sigma a) and Young's modulus (E). Basic density, diameter at breast height, tree height, and hydraulic and mechanical parameters varied considerably among clones. Clonal means of hydraulic and mechanical properties were strongly related to basic density and to growth parameters across sites, especially to diameter at breast height. Compared with stem wood of slower growing clones, stem wood of rapidly growing clones had significantly lower basic density, lower sigma b, MOE, sigma a and E, was more vulnerable to cavitation, but had higher ks100. Basic density was negatively correlated to Psi50 and ks100. We therefore found a tradeoff between Psi50 and ks100. Clones with high basic density had significantly lower hydraulic vulnerability, but also lower hydraulic conductivity at full saturation and thus less rapid growth than clones with low basic density. This tradeoff involved a negative relationship between Psi50 and sigma b as well as MOE, and between ks100 and sigma b, MOE and sigma a. Basic density and Psi50 showed no site-specific differences, but tree height, diameter at breast height, ks100 and mechanical strength and stiffness were significantly lower at the drier site. Basic density had no influence on the site-dependent differences in hydraulic and mechanical properties, but was strongly negatively related to diameter at breast height. Selecting for growth may thus lead not only to a reduction in mechanical strength and stiffness but also to a reduction in hydraulic safety.     

Antifungal activity of the volatile oil of Eucalyptus citriodora

The volatile oil extracted from the leaves of Eucalyptus citriodora showed a wide spectrum of antifungal activity.     

Neuropharmacological activities of fruit essential oil from Litsea cubeba Persoon

Litsea cubeba (Lauraceae) is woody plant endemic to Taiwan that is traditionally used as a spice. In the current study, several behavioral analyses were performed to evaluate the neuropharmacological activity of the essential fruit oil of L. cubeba in ICR mice. Oral administration of 100, 300 and 500?mg/kg of L. cubeba fruit oil significantly prolonged pentobarbitone-induced mouse sleeping time by 20.0, 110.8, and 159.6?%, respectively. In addition, after administration of L. cubeba oil, mice significantly increased the time spent in the open arms and number of entries into the open arms of an elevated plus maze compared to saline-treated mice suggesting that L. cubeba oil has anxiolytic activity. A tail-flick test conducted after treatment of mice with 500?mg/kg L. cubeba fruit oil also suggested that this oil has potent analgetic activity. According to GC/MS analyses, the essential fruit oil of L. cubeba oil consists of 23 compounds. The main components are geranial (37.16?%), neral (28.29?%), and d-limonene (22.90?%). We conclude that L. cubeba oil has a potent effect on the central nervous system of mice.     

Nitrogen deposition and release pattern of slow release fertiliser made from urea-impregnated oil palm frond and rubberwood chips

The fertiliser industry faces a continuing challenge to improve the efficiency of their products, particularly of nitrogenous fertilisers, and to minimise adverse impacts. Therefore, a new slow release fertilizer, ureaimpregnated woodchips from tropical plant biomass(oil palm frond and rubberwood), was developed. The morphology of the impregnated woodchips was investigated by scanning electron microscopy and the success of impregnation of urea and nitrogen deposition into the woodchips was confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry.When nitrogen release patterns from impregnated woodchips fertiliser were simulated using a soil solution and distilled water as leaching solutions in a static condition for 768 h, release was slow and steady, although the release rate was lower in distilled water than in the soil solution.     

Investigations on tall oil of southern pine wood

Summary The separation of unsaponifiable from saponifiable constituents of tall oil fatty acids by different methods has been attempted. After catalytic hydrogenation of the fatty acids it was possible to separate to a great extent the saturated solid acids and the rosin acids present from other components.After separation the different fractions were investigated by means of GC, TLC, NMR and UV analyses. As a result of these measurements it was obvious that the acid-poor fraction consisted of unsaturated acids, several aromatic compounds, partly of phenolic structure and unidentified materials. The concentration of the aromatic compounds was estimated at about 2% by weight. The hydrogenated and filtered fraction was methylated and submitted to a GC/MS analysis. A number of aliphatic and aromatic compounds could be identified.     

Antifungal activities of matrine and oxymatrine and their synergetic effects with chlorthalonil

Introduction There has been a tendency towards the utilization of alternatives for controlling pest and disease. Natural products including plant extracts might substitute for pesticides and contribute to the development of new agents (Addor 1995). Matrin…     

Antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of the fruit essential oil of Xylopia aethiopica from Nigeria

The fruits essential oil of Xylopia aethiopica showed activity against four microorganisms and cytotoxicity to carcinoma cells (Hep-2 cell line) at 5 mg/ml concentration.     

Antifungal activities of the leaves of three Pistacia species grown in Turkey

The crude extracts obtained from the leaves of Pistacia vera, Pistacia terebinthus and Pistacia lentiscus were tested for antifungal activities against three pathogenic agricultural fungi, Phythium ultimum, Rhizoctania solani and Fusarium sambucinum. The extracts significantly inhibited the growth of P. ultimum and R. solani. However, the antifungal activity was not observed against F. sambucinum.