Nicotiana tabacum

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Nicotiana tabacum
Tabak P9290021.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Solanaceae
Genus: Nicotiana
Species:
N. tabacum
Binomial name
Nicotiana tabacum
L.

Nicotiana tabacum, or cultivated tobacco, is an annually grown herbaceous plant of the genus Nicotiana . N. tabacum is the most commonly grown species in the genus Nicotiana, as the plant's leaves are commercially harvested to be processed into tobacco for human use. The plant is tropical in origin, is commonly grown throughout the world, and is often found in cultivation. It grows to heights between 1 and 2 meters (3' to 6'). Research is ongoing into its ancestry among wild Nicotiana species, but it is believed to be a hybrid of Nicotiana sylvestris , N. tomentosiformis , and possibly N. otophora . [1]

Contents

Description

It is an annual plant that grows 1 to 3 metres (3 to 10 feet) high and is sticky hairy on all parts. The stems are thick and not very branched. The leaves can be over 50 centimetres (1 ft 8 in) long with the blades ovate to elliptical, or obovate, pointed towards the front and, at the base, run down the stem or are sessile, encompassing the stem.

The scented inflorescences are multi-branched panicles. The flower stalks are 5 to 15 millimetres (316 to 916 in) long. The calyx is 12 to 18 millimetres (12 to 1116 in) and is covered with uneven 4 to 8 mm (316 to 516 in) narrow pointed calyx lobes shorter than the calyx tube. The crown is plate-shaped, the coronet is white, pink or red, the corolla tube greenish-cream, pink or red. The corolla tube has a total length of 3.5 to 4.5 cm (1+38 to 1+34 in) and is 3 to 5 mm (18 to 316 in) wide in the lower part and widens to 7 to 12 mm (14 to 12 in) in the upper part. The coronet is lobed or pentagonal. The stamens are designed unevenly and start below the center of the corolla tube. The anthers of the four longer stamens are close to the opening of the corolla tube or are slightly above it. The fifth stamen is significantly shorter than both longer pairs. The stamens have a length of 2.5 to 3.5 cm (1 to 1+38 in), significantly longer than the anthers, and are hairy at the base.

The fruit is a 1.5 to 2 cm (916 to 1316 in) long capsule that is narrowly elliptical to egg-shaped. It can stand out over the chalice or be enclosed by it. The seeds are spherical or broadly elliptical and are up to 0.5 mm (164 in) long with a wavy networked surface.

Almost every part of the plant except the seed contains nicotine, but the concentration is related to different factors such as species, type of land, culture and weather conditions. The concentration of nicotine increases with the age of the plant. Tobacco leaves contain 2 to 8% nicotine combined as malate or citrate. The distribution of the nicotine in the mature plant is widely variable: 64% of the total nicotine exists in the leaves, 18% in the stem, 13% in the root, and 5% in the flowers.[ citation needed ]

Phytochemistry

Natural tobacco polysaccharides, including cellulose, have been shown to be the primary precursors of acetaldehyde in tobacco smoke. [2] The main polyphenols contained in the tobacco leaf are rutin and chlorogenic acid. Amino acids contained include glutamic acids, asparagine, glutamine, and γ-Aminobutyric acid [3]

Pyridine alkaloids are present in tobacco as free bases and salts. Nicotine accounts for 90-95% of the plant's pyridines with nornicotine and anatabine accounting for roughly 2.5% each. [4] Pyridyl functional groups present in minute amounts include anabasine, myosmine, cotinine and 2, 3′-bipyridyl. [5] Indole alkaloids are also present in leaves and stems which includes harmala alkaloids as well. Yohimbine, harmine, harmaline and ajmalicine occurs in descending order, yohimbine being highest. [6]

The tobacco plant readily absorbs heavy metals from the surrounding soil and accumulates them in its leaves. These are readily absorbed into the user's body following smoke inhalation. [7]

Tobacco also contains the following phytochemicals: glucosides (tabacinine, tabacine), 2,3,6-trimethyl-1,4-naphthoquinone, 2-methylquinone, 2-napthylamine, propionic acid, anthalin, anethole, acrolein, cembrene, choline, nicotelline, nicotianine, and pyrene. [8]

Megastigmatrienone

Tobacco aroma is due to presence of different volatile compounds; megastigmatrienone being the key flavor compound in tobacco. [9] [10] Megastigmatrienone is used as flavour in tobacco products as well. [11]

Megastigmatrienone, a cyclohexenone, [12] and a carotenoid-derived aromatic compound, produces spice notes associated with wine. [9] [13] [14] [15]

Megastigmatrienone is a metabolite of Brewer's yeast. [12]

Megastigmatrienone, as Tabanone, is manufactured by Symrise as a perfume ingredient. [16] [17] [18] [19]

Habitat and ecology

N. tabacum is a native of tropical and subtropical America, also appearing as a weed.

N. tabacum is sensitive to temperature, air, ground humidity and the type of land. Temperatures of 20–30 °C (68–86 °F) are best for adequate growth; an atmospheric humidity of 80 to 85% and soil without a high level of nitrogen are also optimal.

Parasites

The potato tuber moth ( Phthorimaea operculella ) is an oligophagous insect that prefers to feed on plants of the family Solanaceae such as tobacco plants. Female P. operculella use the leaves to lay their eggs and the hatched larvae will eat away at the mesophyll of the leaf. [20]

Uses

The plant is native to the Caribbean, where the Taíno people were the first recorded peoples to use it and cultivate it. In 1560, Jean Nicot de Villemain, then French ambassador to Portugal, brought tobacco seeds and leaves as a "wonder drug" to the French court. In 1586 the botanist Jaques Dalechamps gave the plant the name of Herba nicotiana, which was also adopted by Linné. It was considered a decorative plant at first, then a panacea, before it became a common snuff and tobacco plant.

Tobacco arrived in Africa at the beginning of the 17th century. The leaf extract was a popular pest control method up to the beginning of the 20th century. In 1851, the Belgian chemist Jean Stas documented the use of tobacco extract as a murder poison. The Belgian count Hippolyte Visart de Bocarmé had poisoned his brother-in-law with tobacco leaf extract in order to acquire some urgently needed money. This was the first exact proof of alkaloids in forensic medicine. [21]

It is now commercially cultivated worldwide. All parts of the plant contain nicotine, which can be extracted and used as an insecticide. The dried leaves can also be used; they remain effective for 6 months after drying. The juice of the leaves can be rubbed on the body as an insect repellent. The leaves can be dried and chewed as an intoxicant. The dried leaves are also used as snuff or are smoked. This is the main species that is used to make cigarettes, cigars, and other products for smokers. A drying oil is obtained from the seed.

Other varieties are cultivated as ornamental plants.

Curing and aging

After tobacco is harvested, it is cured (dried), and then aged to improve its flavor. There are four common methods of curing tobacco: air curing, fire curing, flue curing, and sun curing. The curing method used depends on the type of tobacco and its intended use. Air-cured tobacco is sheltered from wind and sun in a well-ventilated barn, where it air dries for six to eight weeks. Air-cured tobacco is low in sugar, which gives the tobacco smoke a light, sweet flavour, and high in nicotine. Cigar and burley tobaccos are air cured.

In fire curing, smoke from a low-burning fire on the barn floor permeates the leaves. This gives the leaves a distinctive smoky aroma and flavor. Fire curing takes three to ten weeks and produces a tobacco low in sugar and high in nicotine. Pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, and snuff are fire cured.

Flue-cured tobacco is kept in an enclosed barn heated by flues (pipes) of hot air, but the tobacco is not directly exposed to smoke. This method produces cigarette tobacco that is high in sugar and has medium to high levels of nicotine. It is the fastest method of curing, requiring about a week. Virginia tobacco that has been flue cured is also called bright tobacco, because flue curing turns its leaves gold, orange, or yellow.

Sun-cured tobacco dries uncovered in the sun. This method is used in Greece, Turkey, and other Mediterranean countries to produce oriental tobacco. Sun-cured tobacco is low in sugar and nicotine and is used in cigarettes.

Once the tobacco is cured, workers tie it into small bundles of about 20 leaves, called hands, or use a machine to make large blocks, called bales. The hands or bales are aged for one to three years to improve flavor and reduce bitterness.

Ethnomedicinal uses

The regions that have histories of use of the plant include:[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tobacco</span> Agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in genus nicotiana

Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus Nicotiana of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the chief commercial crop is N. tabacum. The more potent variant N. rustica is also used in some countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicotine</span> Chemical stimulant produced by some plants

Nicotine is a naturally produced alkaloid in the nightshade family of plants and is widely used recreationally as a stimulant and anxiolytic. As a pharmaceutical drug, it is used for smoking cessation to relieve withdrawal symptoms. Nicotine acts as a receptor agonist at most nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), except at two nicotinic receptor subunits where it acts as a receptor antagonist.

<i>Nicotiana</i> Genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae

Nicotiana is a genus of herbaceous plants and shrubs in the family Solanaceae, that is indigenous to the Americas, Australia, Southwestern Africa and the South Pacific. Various Nicotiana species, commonly referred to as tobacco plants, are cultivated as ornamental garden plants. N. tabacum is grown worldwide for the cultivation of tobacco leaves used for manufacturing and producing tobacco products, including cigars, cigarillos, cigarettes, chewing tobacco, dipping tobacco, snuff, and snus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snus</span> Moist tobacco product placed under the upper lip

Snus is a tobacco product, originating from a variant of dry snuff in early 18th-century Sweden. It is placed between the upper lip and gum for extended periods, as a form of sublabial administration. Snus is not fermented. Although used similarly to American dipping tobacco, snus does not typically result in the need for spitting and, unlike naswar, snus is steam-pasteurized.

<i>Nicotiana glauca</i> Species of plant

Nicotiana glauca is a species of flowering plant in the tobacco genus Nicotiana of the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is known by the common name tree tobacco. Its leaves are attached to the stalk by petioles, and its leaves and stems are neither pubescent nor sticky like Nicotiana tabacum. It resembles Cestrum parqui but differs in the form of leaves and fusion of the outer floral parts. It grows to heights of more than two meters.

<i>Nicotiana rustica</i> Species of plant

Nicotiana rustica, commonly known as Aztec tobacco or strong tobacco, is a rainforest plant in the family Solanaceae. It is a very potent variety of tobacco, containing up to nine times more nicotine than common species of Nicotiana such as Nicotiana tabacum. More specifically, N. rustica leaves have a nicotine content as high as 9%, whereas N. tabacum leaves contain about 1 to 3%. The high concentration of nicotine in its leaves makes it useful for producing pesticides, and it has a wide variety of uses specific to cultures around the world. However, N. rustica is no longer cultivated in its native North America, as N. tabacum has replaced it.

<i>N</i>-Nitrosonornicotine Chemical compound

N-Nitrosonornicotine (NNN) is a tobacco-specific nitrosamine produced during the curing and processing of tobacco.

<i>Nicotiana benthamiana</i> Species of flowering plant

Nicotiana benthamiana, colloquially known as benth or benthi, is a species of Nicotiana indigenous to Australia. It is a close relative of tobacco.

Y1 is a strain of tobacco that was cross-bred by Brown & Williamson to obtain an unusually high nicotine content. It became controversial in the 1990s when the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) used it as evidence that tobacco companies were intentionally manipulating the nicotine content of cigarettes. Y1 has also been investigated by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anabasine</span> Chemical compound

Anabasine is a pyridine and piperidine alkaloid found in the Tree Tobacco plant, as well as in the close relative of the common tobacco plant. It is a structural isomer of, and chemically similar to, nicotine. Its principal (historical) industrial use is as an insecticide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latakia (tobacco)</span>

Latakia tobacco is a sun-dried and smoke-cured tobacco product. It originated in Syria and is named after its major port city of Latakia, though large production has permanently moved to Cyprus due to varying and compounding sociopolitical issues within Syrian borders. Latakia was potentially discovered by accident when a bumper crop resulted in surplus tobacco; the farmers stored the excess tobacco in the rafters of their home, which at the time was an effective way of preservation as the smoke from the open wood fires used for heat and light would slowly dry and cure food over time. This process of moderate temperature smoke curing is one of the defining factors of its complex aroma.

Pituri, also known as mingkulpa, is a mixture of leaves and wood ash traditionally chewed as a stimulant by Aboriginal Australians widely across the continent. Leaves are gathered from any of several species of native tobacco (Nicotiana) or from at least one distinct population of the species Duboisia hopwoodii. Various species of Acacia, Grevillea and Eucalyptus are burned to produce the ash. The term "pituri" may also refer to the plants from which the leaves are gathered or from which the ash is made. Some authors use the term to refer only to the plant Duboisia hopwoodii and its leaves and any chewing mixture containing its leaves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snuff (tobacco)</span> Smokeless tobacco type

Snuff is a type of smokeless tobacco product made from finely ground or pulverized tobacco leaves. It is snorted or "sniffed" into the nasal cavity, delivering nicotine and a flavored scent to the user. Traditionally, it is sniffed or inhaled lightly after a pinch of snuff is either placed onto the back surface of the hand, held pinched between thumb and index finger, or held by a specially made "snuffing" device.

Tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) comprise one of the most important groups of carcinogens in tobacco products, particularly cigarettes and fermented dipping snuff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Types of tobacco</span>

This article contains a list of tobacco cultivars and varieties, as well as unique preparations of the tobacco leaf involving particular methods of processing the plant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curing of tobacco</span>

In nearly all instances where tobacco is to be used for smoking or chewing, it is necessary to cure the tobacco directly after it's harvested. Tobacco curing is also known as color curing, because tobacco leaves are cured with the intention of changing their color and reducing their chlorophyll content.

<i>Nicotiana attenuata</i> Species of flowering plant

Nicotiana attenuata is a species of wild tobacco known by the common name coyote tobacco. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Texas and northern Mexico, where it grows in many types of habitat. It is a glandular and sparsely hairy annual herb exceeding a meter in maximum height. The leaf blades may be 10 centimetres (4 in) long, the lower ones oval and the upper narrower in shape, and are borne on petioles. The inflorescence bears several flowers with pinkish or greenish white tubular throats 2 to 3 centimetres long, their bases enclosed in pointed sepals. The flower face has five mostly white lobes. The fruit is a capsule about 1 centimetre long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nornicotine</span> Chemical compound

Nornicotine is an alkaloid found in various plants including Nicotiana, the tobacco plant. It is chemically similar to nicotine, but does not contain a methyl group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solanaceae</span> Family of flowering plants that includes tomatoes, potatoes and tobacco

The Solanaceae, or the nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and ornamentals. Many members of the family contain potent alkaloids, and some are highly toxic, but many—including tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, bell and chili peppers—are used as food. The family belongs to the order Solanales, in the asterid group and class Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons). The Solanaceae consists of about 98 genera and some 2,700 species, with a great diversity of habitats, morphology and ecology.

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