Spruce wood, one of the refractory wood species has pit membranes, which has an influence on the permeability of wood providing liquid flow between the wood cells. However, these membranes tend to close under the fiber saturated point (FSD), which makes impregnation more difficult. In this study spruce sapwood samples were treated with two different commercial enzymes to improve the permeability of spruce sapwood. Bioprep 3000 L and Viscozyme L, which are mostly used in the textile industry, are alkaline pectinase enzymes as well as acidic pectinase enzymes, respectively. Following enzymatic treatment, wood samples were analyzed under by light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Primarily, all enzyme treated and untreated wood samples were stained with toluidine blue. The pectin material was coloured red with toluidine blue stain. However, enzymatic treatment caused red coloration loss along with expansion and rupturing of pit membranes. According to these results, pit membranes are known to be destroyed. As expected, the acidic pectinase enzyme degraded torus more so than the alkaline enzyme.

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