Analysis of Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamines in Moldovan Cigarette Tobacco

Abstract

Tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNA) are among the most important and abundant strongly carcinogenic agents in unburned tobacco. It has been established that 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) induces lung tumors in rodents independent of the route of administration. N'-Nitrosonornicotine (NNN) causes tumors of the esophagus and nasal cavity in rats, lung in mice, and respiratory tract in hamsters. Although the manufacturing of cigarettes is an important domain of Moldovan industry, there are no reports in the literature on TSNA analysis in Moldovan tobacco. The main purpose of the present study was an initial evaluation of TSNA levels in Moldovan cigarette tobacco. Eighteen brands of Moldovan cigarettes, representing 78% of all brands produced in Moldova, were analyzed. Four TSNA-NNN, NNK, N'-nitrosoanatabine (NAT), and N'-nitrosoanabasine (NAB)-were analyzed by gas chromatography with nitrosamine selective detection (GC-TEA). Levels of TSNA in most Moldovan cigarettes were substantially lower than in American brands. Mean levels of NNN in three commercial American brands were 3.32 +/- 0.88 (SD) microg/g as compared to 0.579 +/- 0.548 microg/g, range 0.093-2.09 microg/g (N = 18), in the cigarettes produced in Moldova. For NNK and NAT, mean levels in the American brands were 1.57 +/- 0.178 and 1.99 +/- 0.579 microg/g, respectively, while the corresponding values for Moldovan cigarettes were 0.193 +/- 0.089, range 0.104-0.484 microg/g, and 0.160 +/- 0.114 microg/g, range 0.055-0.481 microg/g. The highest levels of NNN-1.10-2.09 microg/g-were observed in "American type" cigarettes manufactured from high-quality tobacco. The results of this study should be useful in heightening the awareness of the dangers of smoking in Moldova and can be envisioned as the initial step in the control of tobacco-related cancer in this republic.

Comparative Analysis of Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamines and Total N-Nitroso Compounds in Moldovan Cigarette Tobacco

“…This is in agreement with a recent study conducted in 31 other countries, which showed that American cigarettes had significantly higher tobacco TSNA levels than did all locally popular non-U.S. brands (25). However, TSNA levels in Moldovan cigarette tobacco varied widely and in some Moldovan brands were similar to those in American cigarettes (24).…”

Tobacco‐specific nitrosamines in smokeless tobacco products marketed in India

“…Tobacco-specific nitrosamines analyses was carried out by a slight modification of a method described previously by Stepanov et al 20 Five-hundred milligram of humidity-conditioned tobacco and 10 mL of citrate-phosphate buffer (pH ¼ 4.5) containing ascorbic acid were added to a 30 mL Nalgene centrifuge tube (Nalge Nunc International, Rochester, NY). Two-hundred nanograms of 5-MeNNN (internal standard for NNN, NAT, and NAB) and C5-NNK (internal standard for NNK) were added.…”

“…20 Fifty milligrams of humidity-conditioned tobacco and 20 mL of methanol containing 50 mg of KOH were added to 30 mL Nalgene centrifuge tubes. The samples were homogenized (Polytron) and then sonicated for 3 hr.…”

Analysis of four tobacco-specific nitrosamines in mainstream cigarette smoke of Virginia cigarettes by LC-MS/MS

“…Several methods, including gas chromatography(GC) [3−5] , highperformance liquid chromatography(HPLC) [6] , gas chromatography/mass spectrometry(GC/MS) [7] and gas chromatography coupled with thermal energy analyzer (TEA) [8] , have been used to analyze TSNAs. Among these methods, GC coupled with TEA which offers reasonable sensitivity and is nitroso-specific, is the most commonly used method.…”