Comparison of Tar Produced by Traditional and Laboratory Methods Yusuf Kurt and Kani Isik * Akdeniz University, Science Faculty, Biology Department, 07058, Campus/Antalya, Turkey E-mail : yusufkurt@akdeniz.edu.tr, kani@akdeniz.edu.tr KEYWORDS Wood Extractives. Resinous Wood. Lebanon Cedar. Taurus Cedar. Ethnobotany ABSTRACT Ethnobotanical uses of plant species varies depending on the knowledge and geography of civilizations, and also prevailing diseases or nuisances in a given time and region. Although parts of annual and/or biennial plants generally have been preferred for ethnobotanical purposes, secondary products such as tar or wood extractives of forest trees have also been used as a natural medicine and coating material. This study compares constituents of tars produced from wood by traditional methods and modern laboratory methods in Cedrus libani Achille Richard. In terms of their qualitative and quantitative chemical properties, significant differences were observed between the wood extractives produced by the two methods. Quality of wood used for extraction, extraction temperature and duration also appear to be among the several factors that influence the chemical quality and quantity of extracts. The extent of contribution of each of these factors, either alone or by combination, is not clearly known. In addition, although the products extracted by either method are used for similar purposes, the level of biological effectiveness of each of them and specific chemicals responsible for such effectiveness need to be determined. * Address for correspondence: Kani Isik Akdeniz University, Science Faculty, Biology Department, 07058, Campus/Antalya, Turkey Telephone: +90 242 310 2351 Fax: +90 242 227 8911 E-mail: kani@akdeniz.edu.tr INTRODUCTION Natural products (especially from plants) have been used by people for healing wounds and diseases since ancient times. The use of plant species varies depending on the knowledge and geography of civilizations, and prevailing dis- eases in a given time and region (Fabricant and Famsworth 2001; Johnson 2006; Ali-Shtayeh et al. 2008). People learned ethnobotanical uses of plants usually by “trial and error” methods in the past. Thus physical, mental, social and practical experiences have been transferred from generation to generation until the present. In other words, evolutionary ancestors of present medicines can be traced back to ethnobotanical experiences accumulated through millennia (Camejo-Rodrigues et al. 2003; Ali-Shtayeh et al. 2008). Annual and/or biennial plants, rather than woody species, generally have been preferred for ethnobotanical uses (Rivera et al. 2005; Estrada et al. 2007; Kargioglu et al. 2010). How- ever, secondary products of forest trees have also been used widely both as a natural medicine and/ or surface coating material in all over the world (Baytop 1999; Zackrisson et al. 2000; Egenberg et al. 2002; Gao et al. 2005; Johnson 2006; Turley et al. 2006; Focho et al. 2009). The Medi- terranean Basin, which is considered as one of world’s plant biodiversity “hot spots”, has more than 100 forest tree species (Fady-Welterlen 2005). The region is also known as one of the “cradles of civilization” on Earth. Woods of some of the trees in the region (Juniperus sp., Pinus sp., Betula sp., Fagus sp., Picea sp. and Cedrus sp.) have been used for tar production since ancient periods. Especially tars of Pinus sylvestris Linnaeus (Scots pine) and Cedrus libani Achille Richard (Lebanon or Taurus ce- dar) are considered distinctive due to their his- torical importance and wide range of applica- tion (Baytop 1999; Egenberg et al. 2002; Hjulstrom et al. 2006; Kurt et al. 2008). Scots pine has a wide distribution range through Europe to Asia (Matyas et al. 2004), one of the most southern natural populations being in Turkey. Its wood has been widely used for building houses, churches, ships and for making various household and farm utensils since ancient times. Also, extract (tar) obtained from its resinous heart-wood has been highly valued export products from the Hanseatic pe- riod to the present in Scandinavian countries (Egenberg et al. 2002; Hjulstrom et al. 2006). In comparison with Scots pine, Taurus cedar has relatively small distribution ranges in the east- ern Mediterranean Basin. The widest distribu- tion range of the species occurs on the Taurus © Kamla-Raj 2012 Ethno Med, 6(2): 77-83 (2012)