CHEMISTRY OF TOBACCO A Symposium Presented before the Division of Agriculture and Food Chemistry at the Diamond Jubilee Meeting of the American Chemical Society
Chemistry and Biochemistry of Green Tobacco
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .266 Identification and Determination J.J.Willoman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270 Nicotine Sulfate from Nicotiana rusfica E. L. Griffin, Jr., G. W. M. Phillips, J. B. Claffey, J. J. Skalamera, and E. 0. Strolle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274 Metabolism of Nicotine and Nature of Tobacco Smoke Irritants P.S.Larron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279 Cigarette Tobaccos. Chemical Changes that Occur during Processing F. R. Darkis and E. J. Hackney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284 Chemical Changes in Tobacco during Flue-Curing C. W . Bacon, Raymond Wenger, and J. F. Bullock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .292 Flue-Cured Tobacco. Chemical Composition of Rib and Blade Tissues F. R. Darkir, L. A. Bairden, P. M. Gross, and F. A. W o l f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297 Nitrogen Compounds in Fermented Cigar Leaves W. G. Frankenburg and A . M . Gottscho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301 Cigar Tobaceos. Chemical Changes that Occur during Curing C.O.Jensen.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306 R.F.Dawson..
Alkaloids of Tobacco.
these important conversions have been developed almost exclusively along empirical lines. However, systematic investigations o f the chemistry of tobacco processing can reveal new ways for producing tobaccos of improved mildness and aroma. Since tobacco, unlike food, i s not consumed per se but rather in the form of its products of combustion, the chemistry of its combustion, dry distillation, and pyrolysis ought to be thoroughly investigaied. The irritating components in the smoke of certain tobacco products and the desirable aroma carriers that make the smoking of a good cigar or cigarette a genuine pleasure should be identified and the processes of their formation from individual chemical components of the burning leaf should be determined. Finally, in spite of many far-reaching claims, there exist few dependable data on the biochemical effects of smoking, and many years of objective work and patient cooperation between medical and chemical research men wi:l be necessary to obtain them. It is gratifying to the tobacco chemist ihat investigations in every one of these various fields, i f carried out in q scientific spirit, will not only serve the practical aims o f the grower and manufacturer but will also contribute to the general progress of plant chemistry, analytical and organic chemistry, enzymology, and other areas of basic scientific importance. This symposium is an attempt to present a cross section of ihese important phases of tobacco research.
The proper raising of good tobacco crops involves, initially, various problems of agricultural chemistry. Progressive growers must be informed regarding the influences exerted b y the composition of the soil, b y weather, by fertilization, and by cultural practices not only on his total yields of tobacco but also on the quality of his crop. The latter is, to a large extent, reflected in the chemical composition of the matured leaves. It is equally important that growers have latest information on fungicides, insecticides, soil fumigants, and other auxiliary chemicals in order to fight successfully the never-ending battle against pests and plant diseases. Any substantial progress in solving these and related agricultural chemical problems will ultimately depend on the rate a t which fundamental research adds to our scientific information on the chemical metabolism of the growing and maturing tobacco plant, on the working of its enzymic apparatus, the role of trace elements, the mechanism and physiological importance of its production o f alkaloids, and on the genetic factors that control the reproduction of the plant and constitute the basic elements for the systematic breeding of new improved tobacco types. Freshly harvested tobacco is merely an industrial raw material, and specific chemical conversions must be initiated in the leaves before they become acceptable for the manufacture of smoking tobaccos. The different techniques employed today in the industry for accomplishing
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