Effect of Lauric Arginate on the Growth and Morphology of Wood-Decaying Fungi

Bio-based preservatives represent one of the most promising solutions for next-generation wood protection due to their sustainability, low environmental impacts and comparable antimicrobial efficiency to current non- bio-based counterparts. Herein, we reported the antifungal properties of Lauric Arginate (LAE), a fully bio-based antimicrobial compounds, against four common wood decaying fungi using malt-agar as substrates in petri dishes. The malt-agar media were amended with various concentrations of LAE at 3, 6, 9, and 12 microliters per milliliter. The substrates without adding any LAE were used as control. Those petri dishes were incubated in an environmental chamber for 14 days. Photos were taken every 48 hours to monitor the fungal growth rates. Along side that test, a series of microscope slides were prepared with test fungi that had grown from amended malt agar solutions in order to search for changes in the morphology of the fungi. We have found that LAE is very effective at deterring the growth of three of these wood decaying fungi, however no significant morphological changes could be observed under a microscope. Further research is needed to determine if LAE is as effective when inoculated into wood