New CEF paper characterises the anatomy and chemistry of the wood and bark of the species Parinari curatellifolia

Tropical mobola plum (Parinari Curatellifolia): a full characterization of wood and bark within the scope of biorefineries” is the new paper published by Abílio Malengue, a PhD student from the Fortec group and researcher at the Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias da Universidade José Eduardo dos Santos, Huambo-Angola, with co-authoring by researchers from the Forest Research Centre (Centro de Estudos Florestais – CEF) Ana Lourenço, Helena Patrício, Ricardo A. Costa, Teresa Quilhó and Jorge Gominho.

In the article, the authors provide a detailed characterisation of the anatomy and chemistry of the wood and bark of the Parinari curatellifolia species, typical of Angola’s Miombo region. The results highlighted the good characteristics of the wood and bark for energy production, but both could be used in the production of products with greater added value; the wood for the production of activated charcoal and the bark to extract compounds with pharmacological activities that could provide socio-economic benefits to the rural communities of Huambo, Angola.

Parinari curatellifolia: A) Illustration of the standing tree, B) flowers, C) leaves and fruit, D) cross-section and dissociated wood. d = 100μm.

The Miombo forest, the field of action of the Fortec group’s doctoral student Abílio Malengue thesis, is the dominant dry tropical forest formation on the African continent.

Find out more by accessing the paper published in the European Journal of Wood and Wood Products by clicking here.