Wood Extractives: Main Families, Functional Properties, Fields of Application and Interest of Wood Waste

Abstract

The extractives contained in wood are compounds with a very high added value in various fields (e.g., pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, agri-food). These extractives can be classified into four groups: lipid components (terpenes and terpenoids), waxes and fats, phenolic compounds, and alkaloids. This review is particularly focused on the description of the main families of extractives contained in wood waste, with their properties and the potential applications made to date. It also makes a brief report on some conventional techniques for extracting wood extractives, with an eye toward recovering wood waste in our country. These extractives, particularly phenolic compounds, fall into several categories: simple phenols, lignans, flavonoids and tannins. They have chemical and biological properties such as antioxidants, antiradicals, anti-termites, antifungals, anticancer, inhibitors of type 1 human immunodeficiency virus, antimutagenics, and antimicrobial properties. They are also used in food preservation as well as wood protection. This review sums up the interest that should be focused on the availability in large quantities of wood waste in our environment, which, far from being a problem, could be the solution to certain current and future problems.