Physicochemical properties and in vitro antioxidant activities of pyroligneous acid prepared from brushwood biomass waste of Mangosteen, Durian, Rambutan, and Langsat

Physicochemical characteristics and in vitro antioxidant activities of four pyroligneous acids carbonized from the wastes of wood species including Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana Linn.), Durian (Durio zibethinus L.), Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum L.), and Langsat (Lansium domesticum Serr.) were assessed. Appearing as transparent liquors with pH 3.9–4.2, the pyroligneous acid samples under test possessed acetic acid (23.22–25.46%) as the dominant component. The total soluble tar, total acid, and water content were 0.15 - 0.28 wt%, 99–192 mg KOH/g and 84.5–93.5 wt%, respectively. Phenolic compounds namely: 2,6-dimethoxyphenol (6.88–9.69%),phenol (2.97–5.88%), 4-methylsyringol (3.10–3.56%), guaiacol (2.36–3.55%), and 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol (1.08–1.28%) were found. All had in vitro antioxidant activities especially mangosteen pyroligneous acid, which showed activity roughly similar to BHT (P>0.05) against anti-lipid peroxidation. Nitric oxide scavenging capacities of all pyroligneous acids were significantly higher than BHT (P<0.05). Our results suggest that pyroligneous acids from the four types of branch waste could be used as sources of beneficial natural antioxidants, possibly as food or feed additives to protect against lipid peroxidation, and potentially also in veterinary medicine in anti-inflammatory products.

Application of Pyroligneous Acid in the Prevention and Control of Brown Blotch Disease in Pleurotus ostreatus

In the present study, agar diffusion test and field trials were carried out using a mushroom （Pleurotus ostreatus） culti- var Shouyanping as the experimental material to determine the antibacterial activity of refined pyroligneous acid prepared from almond shell against Pseudomonas tolaasfi and its effects on mycelial growth of mushroom. The results revealed that 1.25%, 2.50% and 5.00% of refined pyroligneous acid obviously inhibited the occurrence of brown blotch disease in mushroom, but also greatly promoted mushroom mycelial growth. Therefore, 1.25% and 2.50% of refined pyroligneous acid can be used in fields to prevent brown blotch disease, and 5.00% refined pyroligneous acid can be used to control the incidence of brown blotch disease when it widely occurs in fields.

In vivo control of perilla rust disease by oak pyroligneous liquor

Leaves of Perilla frutescens, commonly known as perilla are widely used in Korea, due to their medicinal properties. The rust disease of perilla interrupts its wide use every year. The present study was carried out to evaluate the control of perilla rust disease by using oak pyroligneous liquor having various biological properties. The rust disease infected perilla leaves were applied with 100 μl of oak pyroligneous liquor at different concentrations such as 6.25, 12.5, 25 and 50 μg/ml. Then the leaf samples were observed for the abortion of active rust pustules (yellow color) after 48 hours of incubation at 26?C. Further, inhibition of rust pustules development by oak pyroligneous liquor was evaluated on the leaves of artificially induced perilla rust disease. The best abortion of rust pustules by oak pyroligneous liquor was noticed at the concentration of 50 μg/ml, where 74.4% of the pustules were aborted. Discoloration of rust pustules was also observed in the treated leaves from yellow to white when compared with the untreated control. In addition, oak pyroligneous liquor completely inhibited the development of rust pustules in artificially induced leaves even at low concentration (6.25 μg/ml). The results clearly indicated that oak pyroligneous liquor is a good candidate for the management of Perilla rust disease.

Improvement of Soil Fertility and Crop Yield through Biochar Amendment from Salt Affected Soil of Central China

Soil salinity has been considered a brutal environmental factor for decreasing crop yield due to the accumulation of excessive sodium salts in soil under arid and semi-arid region of the world. This study tries to address the potential use of biochar. An organic matter rich material, used to reclaim salt-stressed soil in order to enhance crop production in dry croplands as well as to increase soil organic carbon （SOC） and to improve soil fertility. In this regard, a field experiment for two years was conducted in a moderately salt-stressed soil of Central China with wheat-maize cropping system. The soil was amended with biochar composted with poultry manure （BPC） at 12 t/ha with diluted pyroligneous solution （PS） at 0.15 t/ha a week before sowing of crop. Results showed significant improvement in soil physical properties, soil nutrient content with reduction of sodium salts and soil pH by amendment of BPC-PS1 and BPC-PS2 over the experimental control salt-stressed cropland. Furthermore, wheat and maize grain yield, nitrogen, phosphorous potassium and K/Na ratio increased while sodium decreased with the application of BPC-PS amendment in wheat and maize grain. This study concluded that the biochar amendment in conjunction with PS greatly improved SOC storage, crop nutrient uptake and soil fertility. Thus, waste treatment of crop straw and poultry manure compost as biochar could be combined to alleviate salt stress and improve crop production in the vast area of arid and semi-arid regions of the world.