Chemical properties of Goniothalamus velutinus and potential prevention on wildlife

The objectives of the study were to determine chemical properties of Goniothalamus velutinus and to test the avoidance of the wildlife through it chemical properties. The chemical properties were determined by used soxhlet extraction method and Fourier Transform Infra-red Spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysed. FT-IR analysed showed that major chemical content in G. velentinus wood contained of 84.96% of titanium dioxide and 50.08% of cellulose. In extraction process, three solvent had been used: i) distilled water ii) Ethanol, and iii) Acetone. Extraction liquid was then tested on its avoidance on wildlife. In this study, ants and termites were selected as wildlife sample. From the result of the experiment, only extraction G.velutinus with acetone showed wildlife avoidance. Meanwhile, other extraction showed negative results. It could be concluded that the sample of extraction did not contained wildlife avoidance characteristic. The avoidance was not because of the tree species, but due to the characteristics of the acetone itself that produce pungent or smelly effect. Thus, the myth of the about the potential of G.velutinus that could prevented the wildlife was not proven.