Abstract
Agarwood is a resinous wood produced by some members of plant family Thymelaeaceae under certain conditions. Agarwood is highly prized, but its formation requires a long-time process in nature. Therefore, various induction techniques have been explored to hasten the process. In this study, we induced agarwood in Gyrinops versteegii, one of the most abundant agarwood-producing trees in Indonesia. We used 12 trees and wounded four branches on each tree through an injection process. We used two strains of the endophytic fungi Fusarium solani isolated from Gorontalo and Jambi Provinces. After 3 months, the inoculated wood had an extensive resinous zone, when compared to wounded control wood. Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis of the inoculated samples revealed the presence of several sesquiterpenes characteristic of agarwood. These included alloaromadendrene, β-eudesmol and β-selinene as well as the chromone derivatives 2-(2-phenylethyl) chromen-4-one, 6-methoxy-2-(2-phenylethyl) chromen-4-one, and 6,7-dimethoxy-2-(2-phenylethyl) chromen-4-one. We conclude that this method successfully induced agarwood to form in a matter of months and could be used to enhance the success of agarwood cultivation.
Highlights
Agarwood is formed in the wood of trees of the Thymelaeaceae in response to infection by microbes
Resinous agarwood of each branch on each tree was pooled and 1 g of powdered agarwood was extracted in 30 mL of methanol or ethyl acetate and incubated for 3 days on a rotary shaker, centrifuged for 10 min at 1000 rpm, and the supernatant collected for gas chromatographic-mass spectrophotometric (GC-MS) analysis
Agarwood is formed when an agarwood-producing tree is wounded and this causes a resinous zone to form around the wound (Rasool and Mohamed 2016)
Summary
Agarwood is formed in the wood of trees of the Thymelaeaceae in response to infection by microbes. The wood is dark and contains fragrant resins produced by secondary metabolism. Agarwood formation is initiated when the tree is wounded. It is believed that the wound, when infected by microbes (Rasool and Mohamed 2016; Turjaman et al 2016), triggers the plant’s self-defense mechanisms. These include the accumulation of secondary metabolites, with their unique and highly prized fragrance. Agarwood producing-species such as Aquilaria spp. and Gyrinops spp. have been listed on Appendix II by the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (http://checklist.cites.org)
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