Extracts of tropical plants for preventing wood biodeterioration

Abstract

Abstract Extracts from some tropical plants have been found to prevent biological attack from wood materials effectively. These extracts offer natural characteristics that can enhance the durability of the treated wood by acting as natural preservatives. As research in this field continues to expand, more tropical plant extracts with wood-protective properties are being developed. Indonesia is a tropical country with diverse and abundant plants with various potential uses, including wood preservatives. This research toaims at synthesise and evaluate information on plant species and plant parts that have the potential to be used as wood preservatives. The research was conducted by making a list of summarized studies and synthesizing a literature review on the topic of the use of tropical plants to prevent wood deterioration. The results showed that there were as many as 60 plant species from more than 30 families that have been observed for their potential use as natural preservatives. The potential plant materials are those mainly belonging to the families of Fabaceae, Myrtaceae, Annonaceae, Arecaceae, Rhizophoraceae, Solanaceae, Verbenaceae, and Thymelaeaceae. The results also showed that the extracts could be derived from almost all parts of the plant (seeds, tubers, leaves, bark, roots, flowers, stems, sap/latex, and fruit peel). These plant parts contain chemical constituents such as flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, tannins, and steroids, which are known to be toxic to wood-destroying organisms.

Access to Document

Other files and links

• Link to publication in Scopus
• Open Access Version Available

Fingerprint