B. P. I.— 287. 



A NEW METHOD POR THE DI-TERMIXAITOK OF 

 NICOTINE IN TOBACCO." 



By WiGHTMAN W. (t.\rneh, Scientific Assistant, Tobacco Breeding Investigations. 



THE RELATION OF NICOTINE TO THE QUALITY OF TOBACCO. 



Nicotine i^ the characteristic alkak)i(l of tobacco, and thus far 

 has not l)een found in any other phint. Its function in the economy 

 of the pLant is not understood, and it has not been determined Avith 

 certainty whether it phiys a role in nutrition or is simply a waste 

 product resulting from katabolic changes in the albuminoid constitu- 

 ents. The physiological effects on the human system resulting from 

 the use of tobacco are doubtless due chiefly to the presence of nico- 

 tine, though in the case of tobacco used for smoking purposes other 

 constituents of the smoke probably play a considerable part. On 

 the other hand, it has been repeatedly shown that the burn, flavor, 

 aroma, and other important qualities of tobacco are in no sense pro- 



aln the Tobacco Breeding Investigations conducted by the Bureau of Plant 

 Industry careful experiments have been undertaken to determine the rehition 

 of the nicotine content of cigar filler and wrapper tobaccos to the quality of 

 these tobaccos. It has been found in the preliminary experiments carried out 

 by Dr. W. W. Garner, of this o'ffice, that the nicotine content of the leaves of 

 different tobacco plants grown under the same conditions varies in a striking 

 manner. The variability of the nicotine content of individual plants has sug- 

 gested the possibility of securing, by breeding and seed selection, strains of the 

 different varieties of cigar wrapper and filler tobaccos possessing a low or a 

 high nicotine content. The large number of nicotine determinations necessary 

 in the carrying out of these tests has required a great expenditure of time and 

 money owing to the complicated and expensive method of determination. The 

 new method of determining the nicotine content of tobacco described in this 

 bulletin greatly simplifies the work of the experimenter by enabling him to make 

 many more determinations in the same length of time than by any previous 

 method. This method also is very much less expensive than any previous 

 method and, as shown in this bulletin, is more satisfactory from the stand- 

 point of accuracy and reliability. The relation of the nicotine content of 

 tobacco to the quality and other characteristics of tobacco and the possibility of 

 breeding tobacco low or high in nicotine content will be presented in more 

 detailed future reports of the Department.— A. D. Shamel, Physiologist in 

 Charge of Cotton and Tobacco Breeding Investigations. 



102 — VII 61 



