Determination of nicotine levels in the leaves of some Nicotiana tabacum varieties cultivated in Syria
Abstract
Introduction: Tobacco is the most widely grown non-food crop in the world. Nicotine is the
most abundant volatile alkaloid in tobacco leaves. Objectives: This work aimed at measuring
nicotine levels in the leaves of seven different varieties of Nicotiana tabacum, namely:
Virginia, Burlip, Katrina, Shk al-bent, Zegrin, Basma and Burley, cultivated in Syria. Methods:
Nicotine was extracted according to approved method and its concentration was determined
by LC/MS/MS in comparison with a standard material dilution series. The percentage
of nicotine concentration was calculated manually. Statistical analysis was used to assess the
significance of differences among variables and to perform multiple comparisons. Results:
The amount of nicotine in dry weight of tobacco leaves represented 6.7% in Virginia variety,
4.9% in Burlip, 4.84% in Katrina, 4.67% in Shk al-bent, 4% in Zegrin, 3.3% in Basma and <3%
in Burley. Significant differences in nicotine concentration were found among the different
varieties as determined by LSD test at a level of 0.05. Conclusion: This study shows the importance
of tobacco varieties grown in Syria, particularly Virginia, Burlip, Katrina, as a cheap
and wealthy source for nicotine to be used in some industries.