ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF CASSIA FISTULA L. EXTRACTS AT DIFFERENT PORTIONS (BARK, STEM, ROOT, LEAF) AND AGE CLASSES

Fungi deterioration of wood is the most common damaging problems of timber industries worldwide. Most wood, especially less durable wood is prone to attack by a wide-range of fungi; thereby a broad spectrum of control is undoubtedly necessary. In this study, the antifungal activity of methanolic extracts of bark, stem, leaf and root of Cassia fistula L. under different age classes, namely Class A (2-3 years), Class B (5-10 years), and Class C (10-15 years) against both white-rot and brown-rot fungi were investigated. The fungi used were Pycnoporos sanguineus, Microporus xanthopus, Coniophora puteana, Trametes species and Stereum ostrea. Generally, methanolic extracts of Cassia fistula L. at different portions and age classes exhibited good and selective antifungal activity against most of the fungi tested, except fungi Microporus xanthopus.