Abstract Major phenolic extractives were quantified in heartwood and sapwood from a 20-year-old Quercus robur progeny trial in southern Denmark, selecting individuals with contrasting heartwood content. Acetone-water extracts were analysed by HPLC-UV for vescalagin, castalagin, and ellagic acid, and by Folin-Ciocalteu for total phenolics. Across groups with low, intermediate, and high heartwood absolute content, mean concentrations of quantified ellagitannins were similar and no group differences were detected. Within the environmental context of this Danish trial and the present sample size, increased heartwood production was not associated with lower concentrations of the quantified extractives. These results support breeding strategies targeting higher heartwood yield without an apparent penalty in ellagitannin content in newly formed heartwood.
Ponzecchi et al. (Wed,) studied this question.