Isolation and Evaluation of Compounds

3 Evaluation of Decay Resistance 9.2J.1 Isolation and Evaluation of Compounds 

Before decay resistance can reasonably be attributed to a particular substance, wood containing the material should be significantly resistant to decay, and removal of the substance(s) from the durable wood should render the extracted wood susceptible to decay. A number of tests have been developed to determine the rate at which certain fungi are capable of decaying wood (2, 3, 38). Either wood blocks or wood meal may be used the latter is sometimes mixed with agar or a nutrient solution. Amounts of decay are measured by determining the loss 

If the contribution of extractives or of a single component of heartwood to overall decay resistance is being tested, the preferred substrate is wood (45). When incorporated into a decay-susceptible woody substrate at a concentration equal to that in the resistant wood, the test compound should impart an equivalent level 

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