Quercus humboldtii (Colombian oak): Characterisation of wood phenolic composition with respect to traditional oak wood used in oenology

Abstract

The use of new oak barrels and the demand for oak wood in oenology is increasing. Thus, it is necessary to search for new wood sources to supply the current demand in cooperage. The aim of this work was to study the composition of ellagitannins and low molecular weight phenolic compounds (LMWP) by HPLC-DAD of green wood Quercus humboldtii Bonpl. (Colombian), compared to the species typically used in cooperage: Quercus sessiliflora Salisb. (French and Romanian) and Quercus alba L. (USA). In Colombian oak wood, the same LMWP and ellagitannins as in the traditional species were identified. The most abundant LMWP was ellagic acid, and its concentration was lower in Q. humboldtii and Q. alba than in Q. sessiliflora, so these two presented a lower content of phenolic acids. As regards phenolic aldehydes, Colombian oak wood only showed significant differences in the content of coniferyl and sinapic aldehydes in relation to French oak. Finally, the total ellagitannin content of Q. humboldtii was lower than that of European oaks and similar to that of American oak (Q. alba). None of the ellagitannins studied presented significant differences compared to Q. alba. Therefore, Q. humboldtii wood was more similar in terms of phenolic composition to Q. alba than to Q. sessiliflora.

Keywords

• quercus humboldtii
• oak heartwood
• ellagitannins
• low molecular weight phenolic compounds