Extraction of Nicotine (3-(1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinyl) pyridine) from Tobacco Leaves Separated from Gold Live Classic Brand™ Cigarettes by Solvent Extraction Approach and Characterization via IR Analysis

Abstract

Nicotine is obtained from the tobacco plant, Nicotiana tabacum L. This plant comes from the nightshade family which has other members including red peppers, eggplant, tomatoes and potatoes. In this study, Nicotine was extracted from tobacco leaves separated from Gold Live Classic BrandTM cigarettes using liquid-liquid solvent extraction method with ether by dissolving the leaves in NaOH solution. The percentage yield determined after the whole extraction method was 0.6%. Calculated percent recovery was 0.6 %, this percentage yield clarified that in this brand, very small nicotine is investigated, this deduces a significant loss of product throughout the procedure which are due to formation of emulsions and not due to washing thoroughly with ether to extract maximum yield, so repeated the process three times. In order to verify the nicotine, other physical properties were determined, MW;162.23g/mol, MP; -79oC, and BP; 246.8oC. While the [α]D of nicotine; -168.5o at the temperature of 293.15K was determined. Distinct peaks on the IR spectra indicated the bond frequencies of certain functional groups, which also confirm the nicotine.