Effect of growing site, sampling date, wood location in trunk and drying method on concentration of soluble proanthocyanidins in Betula pendula wood, with special reference to wood colour

Proanthocyanidins (PAs), which are common phenolic compounds in plants, are considered to be mainly defensive compounds against different kinds of stress, e.g. herbivory. In addition to increasing after stress, they may condense and/or oxidize to form coloured compounds when cells die, which may affect both the resistance of xylem to rot and its colour. This is important in the mechanical wood industry. The effects of some biological factors (growing site, sampling date, wood location in the trunk) on the concentration of soluble PAs (sPAs) were studied in fresh and dried birch wood. Those factors that affected sPA concentration most were sampling date and radial location. Drying method also had a great effect on the sPA concentration, which in turn correlated with the colour of the wood.