Liquid Chromatography-Ultraviolet-Mass Spectrometry Analyses of Hydroethanolic Extracts of Three Wood Species and Their Antioxidant and Antifungal Activities

Abstract Degradation of wood and rot caused by wood-decaying fungi is a significant concern for countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, which has a substantial forest heritage. These pathogenic fungi have a negative effect on wood and other living organisms. Biological control agents could address environmental issues related to the large amount of wood waste in our environment and health issues linked to use of synthetic chemicals to combat wood-decaying fungi. This study examines the control of wood-destroying fungi Coniophora puteana , Pleurotus ostreatus , Poria placenta , Pycnoporus sanguineus , and Trametes versicolor using extracts from three durable woods of Côte d’Ivoire, Mansonia altissima (Bete), Milicia excelsa (Iroko), and Nauclea diderrichii (Badi). Wood sawdust comprises mixtures of sapwood and heartwood; for each wood species, evaluation of the hydroethanolic extracts obtained from sawdust with different sapwood : heartwood ratios is valuable. The studied sapwood–heartwood proportions were 5 percent : 95 percent, 15 percent : 85 percent, and 30 percent : 70 percent, with pure sapwood and pure heartwood extracts at 100 percent. Results showed that extracts from heartwood, sapwood, and sapwood–heartwood mixtures had fungicidal effects, with MFCs for Iroko of 1.25 mg mL −1 against C. puteana , P. ostreatus , and P. placenta . Bete extracts were more effective against P. sanguineus and T. versicolor , with minimum fungicidal concentrations of 4 mg mL −1 and 2.5 mg mL −1 , respectively. This study highlighted that the proportion of sapwood in sawdust (5%–30%), did not affect the fungicidal capacity or quality of the extracts. This research is of great significance for the large-scale valorization of wood sawdust and helps address a major environmental issue.