Water-Soluble Components of Pinus pinaster Wood

Aqueous fractionation of wood has been proposed as a suitable processing method for biorefineries. When treatments are performed under low severity conditions, water-soluble components (which could be detrimental in further processing stages) are removed, whereas polysaccharides, lignin, and other water-insoluble constituents remain in solid phase with little alteration. In order to explore the presence of added-value products in aqueous extracts from Pinus pinaster wood, different samples (heartwood and sapwood with and without knots) were extracted with water at 130 to 140 oC, and the resulting solutions were assayed for yield and composition (by GC-FID, GC-MS, and HPLC). The major extract components, such as polysaccharide-derived products, simple phenolics, stilbenes, lignans, flavonoids, organic acids, jubaviones, steryl esters, and triglycerides, were identified and quantified. In order to assess a possible application of the extracts, their antioxidant activity was measured using the Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity assay.