ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF PYROLYTIC OILS OF TAR FROM RUBBERWOOD (HEVEA BRASILIENSIS) PYROLYSIS

The effect of three pyrolytic oil samples from rubberwood tar on three fungi species, viz. Gloeophyllum trabeum (brown rot), Coriolus versicolor (white rot) and Bostryodiplodia theobromea (blue stain) was studied with the agar dilution technique using malt extract agar media (MEA). With the three pyrolytic oil samples tested, the lowest concentrations causing a 50% reduction in fungal growth (ED⁵⁰) were 640.77 µgml⁻¹ for G. tabeum, 736.88 µg ml⁻¹ for C. versicolor and 661.30 µg ml⁻¹ for B. theobromea. Although no correlation could be between the antifungal activity and the phenolic components in the pyrolytic oils, the study showed that the tar oils from rubberwood pyrolysis have antifungal properties which made the tar possible to be used as a wood preservative or a fungicide.