FORESTSPECS

"Wood Bark and Peat Based Bioactive Compounds, Speciality Chemicals, and Remediation Materials: from Innovations to Applications"

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The production of fine and industrial chemicals and bioactive compounds based on renewable, naturally occurring raw materials has become an exciting research topic, but so far only few studies concern side products of the forest industry. We will focus on bark and on peat. Bark is a high-volume waste product, currently largely unutilised as a raw material. Northern Europe and Russia have abundant peat reserves, offering a rich source of complex molecules for many application areas. White birch, pine and spruce form the basis for a very large wood industry. Betulin and suberin are the major components of the bark of birch trees. Betulin is a precursor of triterpenoid compounds having important pharmacological, physiological or biological properties useful in pharmaceutical and industrial applications. Interesting possibilities for betulin exist also in cosmetics and in agricultural applications. Suberin is the other main component of birch outer bark, and it can be used to produce new industrially potential products such as binders for coatings and composite materials, biodegradable lubricants, and surface-active agents. Bark from other tree species (Pinus, Picea, Populus, Larix), their properties, and possible uses will also be researched in this project, along with humic substances from peat. Our work includes innovative natural products chemistry, extraction and process technology; as well as basic research on mode of action and structure-function relationships within the application areas (e.g., in plant protection products: insect pest antifdeedants, antifungal and antibacterial products; in pharmaceutical/medical applications, cosmetics, and bioremediation).We plan to ensure that promising results from this project will have a higher than the average probability of becoming products of significant importance to the forest, farming, medical and pharmaceutical sectors, with major positive spin-off impacts to human health and the environment.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

In a pioneering study, researchers identified a range of high-value chemical compounds from forest wastes like bark, peat and humus.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

By-products of the forest industry, like bark and peat, contain bioactive molecules with potential applications in medicines, cosmetics, industrial chemicals and plant protection products. This means that rather than burning these renewable, naturally occurring raw materials, high-value products that will boost rural economies and sustainable forestry could be created.

To realise this potential, the EU funded a project called http://www.forestspecs.eu (FORESTSPECS). The project's aim was to identify and study bioactive compounds from the bark of industrially important tree species, and from humus and peat.

Researchers found a large number of potentially valuable substances, and were able to further synthesise useful derivative compounds. The compounds were all screened for potential applications in, for example, bioremediation materials, fertilisers, fungicides and pharmaceuticals.

One important discovery was that several Larix bark compounds could provide some protection against downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola) on grapevines. Researchers also devised a simple and efficient way to extract a medically relevant compound known as Rhaponticin from Norway spruce bark.

A peat distillate was furthermore found to be useful in a nasal spray device, which one project partner plans to patent upon further development. These and other advances of the FORESTSPECS project demonstrated that untapped potential lies within forestry waste streams.