In spite of the remarkable mechanical characteristics of wood for building construction and furniture industry, this material is prone to biodeterioration by xylophagous organisms. This compromises its durability and performances during storage and services, and results in considerable economical losses estimated by the billions. Protection against fungi, termites and other wood biodegrading organisms is therefore a priority to improve durability and sustainability. Conventional treatments against such pests still involve metals salts and synthetic chemical agents. Because of the negative impact from most of these pesticides on the environment, and their toxicity for human health, their application has been severely limited or banned in many countries. In recent years, Groupe Berkem R&D Laboratories have been active in search of novel alternative methods, safe and respectful of environment. They recently developed new formulations based on plant extracts rich in polyphenols showing effectiveness in controlling several species of termites, wood-boring insects, and fungi. To go further in the understanding why and how these natural plant second metabolites could exert effective action against wood deterioration, particularly by termites. In the present work, the explanation of the action of our new formulations to control wood deterioration was addressed in terms of 1/ the biochemical systems implemented by insects to ingest wood, 2/ the ultrastructural organization of the wood cell wall macromolecular constituents, 3/ the typical activities and mode of action of polyphenols. Our views on the mechanisms by which polyphenols act against wood deteriorating termites should be useful for the development of novel eco-friendly pesticides formulations

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