Extract substances

Extractives or accessory compounds are substances which by extraction can detach from plant tissues, and not to the structural elements of the cell wall include. These include carbohydrates , proteins , amino acids , fats , fatty acids , aromatic compounds (including phenols , lignans , flavonoids , quinones ), terpenes , resin acids , sterols , alkaloids .

The extract substances include the tannins , resins , dyes and the core substances contained in the heartwood of trees. The latter have a share of up to 5% in Central European wood species and up to 20% in tropical species. Many of these substances are toxic, delay the biotic degradation of the tissue and thereby cause increased natural durability against fungal or animal wood pests . Some compounds can cause irritation, allergies and poisoning in humans and animals . The heartwood of the golden rain ( Laburnum anagyroides ) contains z. B. the poisonous alkaloid cytisine .

In the past, dyes, camphor and gum arabic were extracted from wood . Today, in some countries, the extraction of resins, turpentine oil , rubber and tanning agents still play an economic role.