Chromatographic Determination of Hydrocarbon Waxes in Tobacco Leaf and Smoke

Paraffins of tobacco Ieaf were separated by column chromatography on silicic acid. Leaf paraffins were fractionated from other wax constituents by chromatography in a definite sample to substrate to solvent ratio. The developed method was used to evaluate the transfer of paraffins and neophytadiene from leaf to smoke in a reference cigarette. Gas chromatographic separations were performed on a high-temperature liquid phase. Gas chromatography in conjunction with mass spectrometry was used to determine the paraffin composition of a representative flue-cured tobacco, a reference cigarette tobacco, and smoke condensate. It was concluded that paraffins were probably transferred to smoke relatively unchanged, while neophytadiene underwent some pyrolytic decomposition.