Virus pandemics pose a threat to human life. In this study, we developed a simple method for the conversion of woody biomass into antiviral substances. Beech wood was decomposed by microwave acidolysis in 0.5% aq H₂SO₄ and fractionated by silica gel chromatography. The obtained fractions exhibited strong antiviral activity against encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) without cytotoxicity. Structural analyses revealed that the separated antiviral substances were lignin–carbohydrate complexes with molecular weight in the range of 2600–3900, containing 86.8–90.4% lignin and 3.1–6.1% carbohydrates. Moreover, the native β-O-4 linkages were considerably cleaved by microwave acidolysis, whereas the β–β and β-1 interlinkages remained partially unchanged. A signal corresponding to the α-ether linkage between the lignin and carbohydrates was observed in the heteronuclear single-quantum coherence nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. The cleavage of the carbohydrate chains by hemicellulase significantly reduced the antiviral activity, suggesting that the carbohydrate moiety played a critical role in the inactivation of EMCV. This research provides a green strategy for the production of huge amounts of antiviral substances from a sustainable bio-resource.

中文翻译：

---

通过微波酸解将山毛榉木材转化为抗病毒木质素-碳水化合物复合物

病毒大流行对人类生命构成威胁。在这项研究中，我们开发了一种将木质生物质转化为抗病毒物质的简单方法。通过微波酸解在 0.5% aq H ₂ SO _{4 中}分解山毛榉木材并通过硅胶色谱分离。获得的级分对脑心肌炎病毒（EMCV）表现出很强的抗病毒活性，没有细胞毒性。结构分析表明，分离的抗病毒物质是木质素-碳水化合物复合物，分子量在 2600-3900 之间，含有 86.8-90.4% 的木质素和 3.1-6.1% 的碳水化合物。此外，天然的 β-O-4 键被微波酸解显着裂解，而 β-β 和 β-1 键保持部分不变。在异核单量子相干核磁共振光谱中观察到与木质素和碳水化合物之间的α-醚键对应的信号。半纤维素酶对碳水化合物链的切割显着降低了抗病毒活性，表明碳水化合物部分在 EMCV 的灭活中起关键作用。这项研究为从可持续生物资源中生产大量抗病毒物质提供了一种绿色策略。