Abstract
The depletion of fossil resources and the growing environmental concerns of the actual society have leaded to an urgent need of shifting from petroleum-based products to natural substitutes. In this context, lignocellulosic biomass has emerged as a potential alternative to obtain bio-precursors for the synthesis of new chemicals and materials. Wood residues from unexploited Atlantic mixed forests have become an interesting type of biomass, not only for their content on structural compounds, but also for their non-structural fractions such as extractives. These compounds usually present antioxidant and antifungal capacities and, thus, they can be interesting for multiple applications. However, their extraction can be complex and costly and, hence, intensification techniques such as ultrasound assisted experiments have been studied. The aim of this work was the evaluation of the potential of five hardwood species coming from Atlantic mixed forests for the obtaining of biologically active compounds. For this aim, after studying the chemical composition of the woods, extractive compounds were obtained through ethanol-water based conventional and ultrasound assisted extraction methods. The obtained extracts were characterised and their antioxidant and antifungal capacities were determined. The yields of the extracts for ultrasound assisted experiments were, in general, higher than those for conventional ones and they also resulted to be richer in phenolic compounds. The obtained extractives seemed to have both antioxidant and antifungal activities, although the latest should be studied in depth in future
