2 j6 
POISONS : THEIR EFFECTS AND DETECTION. [§ 336 . 
TABLE OF RESULTS, ARRANGED ACCORDING TO PER CENT. 
OF NICOTINE. 
Variety examined. 
Nicotine per cent. 
1. Syrian leaves (a) . 
. 
•612 
2. American chewing .... 
•935 
3. Syrian leaves (6). 
1093 
4. Chinese leaves. 
1-902 
5. Turkish (coarse cut) .... 
2-500 
6 . Golden Virginia (whole strips) 
2-501 
7. Gold Flake (Virginia) .... 
2-501 
8 . “ Navy-cut ” (light coloured) 
2-530 
9. Light returns (Kentucky) 
2-733 
10. “ Navy-cut ” (dark “ all tobacco ”) 
3-640 
11. Best “ Bird’s-eye ” 
3-931 
12 . “ Cut Cavendish ” (a) .... 
4-212 
13. “ Best Shag ” (a) 
4-907 
14. “ Cut Cavendish ” (b) . 
4-970 
15. “ Best Shag ” (6) .... 
5-000 
16. French tobacco ..... 
8-711 
17. Algerian tobacco (a) 
8-813 
18. Algerian tobacco (b) 
8-900 
It is therefore obvious that the strength of tobacco in nicotine varies 
between wide limits. 
§ 336. Nicotine is methyl-pyridyl-pyrrolidine, 
N 
ch 2 . ch 2 
I I 
. CH CH 2 
\/ 
N. CH 3 
and has been synthetised by Pictet and Rotschy ; 1 the successive 
steps of the synthesis are as follows :—j3-amino-pyridine-mucate 
is distilled and N./3-pyridy 1-pyrrole obtained; the vapour of this 
is passed through a red-hot tube, when it isomerises to a/bpyridyl- 
pyrrole ; on acting on this last product with methyl iodide, 
methiodide of nicotyrine is formed, the same as on carefully 
oxidising natural nicotine; nicotyrine can be obtained from the 
methiodide by distillation with lime. By acting on nicotyrine with 
iodine and NaOH, an iodine substitution compound is obtained, 
which is reduced by tin and hydrochloric acid to dihydro-nicotyrine ; 
this substance is transformed into the perbromide, and on reduc¬ 
tion of this, inactive nicotine is obtained. By fractional crystal¬ 
lisation of the tartrates the inactive nicotine is divided into lcevo- 
and dextro-rotatory nicotines, the former being identical with the 
natural product. 
1 Ber., 1904, p. 1225. 
