Exploration of Preservatives that Inhibit Wood Feeding by Inhibiting Termite Intestinal Enzyme Activity

Abstract

In Korea, damages to wooden cultural properties by termites have been reported all over the country, including Ulleungdo Island and Jeju Island. In order to reduce the damage caused by termites, most cultural properties damaged by them are treated with fumigation or drug treatment on the soil to kill or repel them. The number of treatments is decreasing due to cost and safety problems, and new methods needed to cope with this situation. After extracting an enzyme by selecting only worker termites from the termites collected in Shinan, Jeonnam, as a result of measuring the enzyme activity using xylan of cellulose and hemicellulose that are the components of wood, the activity of termite intestinal enzymes in xylan was higher than that of cellulose having a high molecular weight. Therefore, in this study, as a result of exploring over 600 species of medicinal plant extracts that inhibit the activity of termite intestinal enzymes using xylan as a substrate, the inhibitory effect was significant in Borneolum Syntheticum, Ephedra sinica, and Menthol. Selected Borneolum Syntheticum, Ephedra sinica, and Menthol's extracts not only inhibited the activity of termite intestinal enzymes, but also confirmed that they have insecticidal activation and inhibitory effects on feeding in the result of the direct treatment.

Investigation on the Awareness and Preference for Wood Culture to Promote the Values of Wood: III. Living Environment and Trend of Wood Utilization

“…Concerning negative reactions to wood, such as "logging" and "expensive," it is vital to shift public opinion via publicity that wood functions as a carbon storage and is a sustainable recycling resource (Lippke et al, 2011). Furthermore, for negative perceptions of wood utilization such as "old material," "difficulty in management," and "chemical treatment," publicity is required to improve negative perceptions by utilizing research results such as strengthening the effect of preservative treatment of wood products (Cahyono et al, 2020;Lee et al, 2020;Priadi et al, 2020) and toxicity analysis of chemicals such as preservatives and flame retardants used in wood.…”

Anti-Termite Activity of Azadirachta excelsa Seed Kernel and Its Isolated Compound against Coptotermes curvignathus

“…Subterranean termites are the most important wood pest in the world, with the Formosan subterranean termite causing extensive damage in Asian countries (Arinana et al, 2022;Kuswanto et al, 2015). Currently, the use of insecticides to prevent termite activity on wood has been restricted due to their negative impact on human health and the environment (Lee et al, 2020).…”

Characterization of Low-Temperature Enzymatic Reactions through Heterologous Expression and Functional Analysis of Two Beta-Glucosidases from the Termite Symbiotic Bacterium Elizabethkingia miricola Strain BM10

“…Termites are wood-eating pests (Arinana et al, 2022;Su and Scheffrahn, 2000). Since termites damage wooden buildings, many studies have been conducted to control them in various ways (Adfa et al, 2020(Adfa et al, , 2023Arsyad et al, 2020;Cahyono et al, 2020;Ella Nkogo et al, 2022;Im and Han, 2020;Lee et al, 2020;Oramahi et al, 2022;Priadi et al, 2023). However, they also serve as ecological suppliers providing various nu-trients, including nitrogen compounds (Govorushko, 2019;Lobry de Bruyn and Conacher, 1990).…”