This research was partially supported by a grant from the Brown Hazen Fund of the Research Corporation. Names of companies or commercial products are given solely for the purpose of providing specific information; their mention does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture over others not mentioned.
Tobacco plants exposed to UC02 during growth served as sources for radioactive phytosterols, neophytadiene, alkaloids, fatty acids and others. Techniques for the isolation and identification of these compounds included solvent distribution, gel-permeation chromatography, thin-layer chromatography in conjunction with radioscanning, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The radioactive isolates were then incorporated into cigarettes, and their distribution patterns in the smoke were determined. A substantial portion of the labeled isolates was combusted to UC02, in addition to being transferred intact into the smoke "tars", and degraded to volatile organic compounds. Measurable quantities (<1%) were also converted to polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. The techniques utilized can serve as models for additional studies of this kind and lead to practical approaches for modifying smoke composition.The biological activity and organoleptic and other properties of cigarette smoke are a function of the chemical compounds that comprise the smoke. These compounds originate from the leaf, by direct transfer (e.g., distillation, sublimation), by thermally degradative processes, and/or by pyrosynthesis. By identifying precursors in the leaf that give rise to undesirable smoke constituents, one could ultimately modify the levels of these precursors in the leaf and consequently control the composition of the smoke.Previously, precursor-product relationships were established by pyrolysis studies. In these, selected leaf components or extracts were subjected to appropriate high temperatures, and the products thus generated were
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