Control of wood biodeterioration by fungal metabolites

IRG/WP 92-1527

H S Ananthapadmanabha, H C Nagaveni, V V Srinivasan

Treating wood with different conventional preservative chemicals for protection and economic utilisation is well known. Tough some of these chemicals are toxic to skin, their use as wood preservative is unavoidable as they should be toxic to biodeteriorating organisms also. Recent advances in chemistry of natural products enabled the use of wood extractives as biocidal compounds against biodeteriorating organisms. Similary metabolites of marine organisms such as sponge, moluscus, horse shoe crabs, have been suggested as useful wood preservative substances. Many fungi colonise wood, interact each other during their succession, and produce toxic metabolites for their survival and dominance. Prelimirlary studies on these metabolites, when tested, showed inhibitory effect on some of the known wood rotting fungi, which has prompted, to make an attempt to use the fungal culture filtrate as possible wood preservatives. Keeping this in view, fungal culture filtrates of Trichoderma viridae; Sporotrichum Pulverulentum; Chaetomium globulosum and Penicillium spinolosum were extracted with kerosine for use as possible preservatives. Rubber and Mango wood were treated with these Fungal Culture Filtrate (FCF) and then were exposed to Brown an white rots to find out the induced resistance. Treated wood were also exposed to field conditions to find out preservative action under natural conditions.


Keywords: BIODETERIORATION; BLOCK TESTS; FIELD TESTS; FUNGAL METABOLITES; FUNGAL CULTURE FILTRATES; TREATED STAKES; STAKES; WEIGHT LOSS

Conference: 92-05-10/15 Harrogate, England, UK


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