Study on tobacco components involved in the pyrolytic generation of selected smoke constituents

The aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of various tobacco components to the generation of smoke constituents using a tobacco pyrolysis model. We analyzed the amounts of primary tobacco components (sugars, protein, polyphenols, alkaloids, organic acids, inorganics etc.) in flue-cured and burley tobacco leaves. Each of the components was added to the tobacco leaves at the 0.5-fold and 1.0-fold amount naturally present in the leaves. The treated tobacco samples were pyrolyzed at 800 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere with an infrared image furnace, and the selected smoke constituents (benzo[a]pyrene, hydrogen cyanide, carbonyl compounds, aromatic amines, volatile organic compounds and phenolics) were quantitatively analyzed by several methods, including high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The contribution of each tobacco component to the generation of selected smoke constituents was estimated from a regression line determined by the three yields (no addition, 0.5-fold addition, and 1.0-fold addition). The results of this study can provide useful and comprehensive information on the relationship between tobacco components and selected smoke constituents during pyrolysis.