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

• Dana-Mihaela Pop ^[1] ; Maria Cristina Timar ^[1] ; Anca Maria Varodi ^[1] ; Emanuela Carmen Beldean ^[1]
  1. [1] TransilvaniaUniversity of Brașov, Faculty of Furniture Design and Wood Engineering, Department of Wood Processing and Wood Products Design, Brașov, Romania
• Localización: Maderas: Ciencia y tecnología, ISSN 0717-3644, ISSN-e 0718-221X, Vol. 24, Nº. 1, 2022
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This paper investigates the potential of clove (Eugenia caryophyllata) essential oil (C-EO) as a wood protection system for use in cultural heritage conservation. The preventive and curative antifungal efficacy of C-EO was compared to a boron containing wood preservative (Diffusit S) in two laboratory tests on Europe-an beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Scots pine sapwood (Pinus sylvestris) mini-blocks. Non-sterile, air-infected wood samples were employed in the first test, while wood samples with active attack, as result of inocula-tion with three fungal strains isolated from cultural heritage sites, in the second test. Untreated controls and C-EO-treated wood blocks were incubated up to 150 days to monitor and quantify fungal growth. The experimental results showed antifungal efficacy of C-EO to be higher than that of the boron wood preservative at the concentrations used. Concentrations of C-EO 5 % - 10 % in ethyl alcohol prevented mould growth for at least 150 days, while a concentration of 10 % delayed or suppressed active attack by decay fungi. This effect, determined up to 90 days of incubation, was dependant on the type of fungus