The fungical effect of tannins is appraised after exposure of treated woods samples to wood rotting fungi. A screening-test is carried out with several solutions containing extracts of two kinds of tannins; a condensed tannin derived from Quebracho heartwood (Schinopsis sp.) and a hydrolyzable one extracted from chestnut heartwood (Castanea sativa Mill). If a fungicidal action was indeed found it is not sufficient to offer an alternative to classical chemical preservatives. However, it will be interesting in the future, to use their ability to form insoluble complexes with metal ions to fix within the wood fungicides like copper otherwise easily leached.

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