Combined testing approach to evaluate the antifungal efficiency of clove (Eugenia caryophyllata) essential oil for potential application in wood conservation

Abstract

The efficiency of clove (Eugenia caryophyllata) essential oil (C-EO) for the curative antifungal treatment of historic wood was investigated in comparison with two classical biocide products: a boron-based preservative (Diffusit S) and a formulation containing quaternary ammonium salts and isothiazole (Biotin T). A combined approach was adopted that consisted of implementation of C-EO in a practical case study on a degraded beech (Fagus sylvatica) wood artifact and evaluation of the treatment efficacy via an original laboratory mycological test. Small samples, extracted from the degraded wood material before and after curative treatments, were placed as inoculum on sterile culture medium and incubated for periodic monitoring of the emerging fungal growth for 140 d. Direct observation was supplemented with digital quantification of the fungal coverage area via ImageJ software and calculation of the absolute and relative indices of fungal development reduction. The results indicated that the C-EO solutions at both tested concentrations (10%, 5%) were more efficient than the considered reference products at similar concentrations (Diffusit S (10%) and Biotin T (5%)) for curative antifungal treatment. However, none of the treatments applied entirely prevented reactivation of the severe and complex fungal attack, which was highlighted by the mycological tests conducted on the control samples.

An evaluation of clove (Eugenia caryophyllata) essential oil as a potential alternative antifungal wood protection system for cultural heritage conservation

“…Based on the FCA values, absolute and relative indices of reduction of fungal development (IRD, %) were calculated to highlight and compare the antifungal activity of the tested products (C-EO and the reference product), similarly to a previous publication of the authors (Pop et al 2020) (Equation 2):…”

Cinnamon Bark Oil as an Effective Fungicide in Protecting the Surface of Wood-Based Softboards against the Development of Mold Fungi

“…The fungicide potential of plants is enormous, as evidenced by numerous publications [7][8][9][10]. The effectiveness of extracts from Nerium oleander L. [11], Gynadriris sisyrinchium (L.) Parl [12], and mistletoe leaves (Viscum album) [13] in protecting wood against biocorrosion caused by fungi has been proven.…”

Characterization and identification of wooden rice bucket made in 1860s

“…Wood is one of the earliest materials used by human beings, carrying the civilization of human development (Popescu et al 2009;Ganne-Chédeville et al 2012;Pop et al 2020;Sun et al 2022). Wood culture is deeply rooted in the soul and is one of the most representative cultural heritages in ancient China, transmitted through generations (Xie et al 2015;Liu et al 2019;Yin and Liu 2021).…”

“…Wood culture is deeply rooted in the soul and is one of the most representative cultural heritages in ancient China, transmitted through generations (Xie et al 2015;Liu et al 2019;Yin and Liu 2021). In ancient China, most furniture, houses, and tableware were made of wood (Qu et al 2019;Sun et al 2022), and wooden objects from ancient civilizations were considered precious and needed careful storage and study, as they were susceptible to fungi, bacteria, insects, and also different physical agents (Popescu et al 2007;Fabri 2012;Popescu et al 2013;Pop et al 2020). It is also important to learn and study the manufacturing technique of these special old objects.…”

“…Decay mechanisms related to wood fungi, such as brown rot, soft rot (Ascomycetes), and white rot (Basidiomycetes), has a specific type of wood damage via decomposing cellulose, hemicelluloses, and also lignin (Broda and Mazela 2016;Pop et al 2020). This kind of degradation can be observed at the chemical and microscopic level and also at the macroscopic level (Fackler and Schwanninger 2012;Brischke et al 2014;Walsh-Korb and Avérous 2019).…”