Antifungal protection of beech wood using plant extracts

Abstract

In this research, the antifungal efficacy of dry plant extracts of Chinese cinnamon bark (Cinnamomum cassia L.), Rtanjski tea herb (Satureja montana L.) obtained by water extraction and extract of Thyme herb (Thymus serpyllum L.) obtained by ethanol-water extraction was investigated against the fungi Coniophora puteana and Serpula lacrymans, which cause brown rot, and the fungus Trametes versicolor, which causes white rot of hardwood and conifers. Five different concentrations of plant extracts were tested, and water was used as a solvent. Samples of beech wood (Fagus sylvatica ssp. moesiaca (Maly) Czeczott.) were treated by the immersion method with solutions of plant extracts and exposed for 60 days to the action of the test fungi. The smallest mass loss (%) of beech wood when affected by each of the test fungi was in samples treated with Thymus serpyllum extract at a concentration of 25%, followed by Satureja montana at the same concentration. Cinnamomum cassia bark extract did not show significant antifungal activity against the test fungi at any concentration. The obtained results can affirm the use of dry plant extracts as ecologically acceptable agents in the preventive protection of non-resistant wood species against rotting fungi.