Potentials of <i>Mangifera Indica</i> Seed Oil Extract as Bio-preservative Against Termite Attack on Wood

Abstract

The need for preservation of wood to prolong it serviceable life is necessary and thus developing a new safer ecofriendly preservative is of importance because of the damages caused by the chemical preservatives. This study, therefore, investigates the bio preservative potentials of Mangifera indica seed oil extract against termite attack on Triplochiton scleroxcylon and Terminalia superba wood. The pods of M. indica were collected and dehulled after which the seeds were removed from the pods, sundried, and blended to fine powder. The fine cotyledon was subjected to solvent extraction for oil using a Soxhlet apparatus and N-hexane as the solvent. Data collected was analyzed using simple statistics and analysis of variance at α = 0.05. The wood was dimensioned into 5 x 5 x 30 cm and 200 ml of seed oil was applied to it using a brush. The treated wood was exposed to field termites and the absorption rate and weight loss to termite attack were determined. Data collected were analysed with t-test at α = 0.05. The percentage weight loss of wood samples due to T. scleroxcylon and T. superba were 13.76 and 11.52 % respectively. These values are lower than the mean values obtained for the control (14.84 and 12.44 %). The absorption of seed oil extract by the wood samples differ significantly (P≤0.05). Meanwhile, there was no significant differences (p>0.05) in the weight loss due to termite between treated wood samples but untreated wood samples differ significantly (p≤0.05). The M. indica seed extract can serve as an alternative preservative against termite attack thereby reducing environmental pollution that may arise from the use of conventional chemical preservatives.