Essential oils (EOs) were steam-extracted from the needles and twigs of balsam fir, black spruce, white spruce, tamarack, jack pine and eastern white cedar that remained after logging in eastern Canada. These EOs, similarly to that from Labrador tea and other commercial EOs from Chinese cinnamon, clove and lemon eucalyptus, exhibited many common constituent compounds (mainly α-pinene, β-pinene, limonene and bornyl acetate) making up 91% of each oil based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. All of these oils exhibited antibacterial properties, especially when examined in closed tube assay compared to the traditional 96-well microliter format. These antimicrobial activities (minimum inhibitory concentration ≥ 0.2% w/v), comparable to those of exotic EOs, were shown against common pathogenic bacteria and fungi. The antioxidant potential of the boreal samples was determined by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging (concentration providing 50% inhibition ≥ 7 mg/ml) and reducing power methods. Finally, this investigation revealed some boreal EOs to be potential antimicrobial and antioxidant agents that would notably benefit products in the personal hygiene and care industry.

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The spreading of vinasse on soils may favor not only anoxia but also mineral alterations and metal mobilization. Our aims were to record the geochemical changes occurring in a ferralsol subjected to vinasse input and anaerobiosis, and to check for soil resilience after a return to aerobic conditions. Soil slurries were therefore incubated under successive 7 d of aerobic, 0 to 28 d of anaerobic, and 28 d of aerobic conditions, vinasse being supplied at one of three levels when anaerobiosis began. At several dates, the slurry solution was characterized (pH and organic and mineral compounds) and Mn and Fe oxidation states in solids were assessed. Before incubations, about 20% of the Fe in solids was already reduced, whereas almost all Mn was found as Mn(IV). During the first aerobic period, mobilized metals included Pb, Zn, Ni, Cu, and Cr. After vinasse input during the first 14 d of anaerobiosis, the principal biotransformations were fermentation and true acetogenesis; Fe and Mn were mobilized during this period (up to 4.05 and 6.2 mmol L−1, respectively), and most Mn and an unknown but small fraction of Fe in solids were reduced. During the subsequent 14 d of anaerobiosis, only acetoclastic methanogenesis was observed. The return to aerobic conditions led to rapid oxidative immobilization of Fe, desorption of exchangeable Fe(II), and the partial immobilization of other metals (Ca, Mg, K, Na, Mn, Pb, and Ni). Manganese was not oxidized, and there was no return to the initial conditions for Fe and Mn in solids.