Nicotine, piturine and lobeline are the active principles of tobacco and other substances which are smoked as stimulant narcotics.
The peculiar properties of snuff are dependent on the presence of free nicotine, free ammonia and the aromatic principles developed during fermentation.
By distillation over lime, the methyl group is removed from the pyridine ring, and the resulting a- pyridyl-Nmethylpyrrol gives i-nicotine on reduction.
This base is resolved into its active components by d-tartaric acid, l-nicotine-d-tartrate crystallizing out first.
In recent years the growth of the leaf under cloth tents has greatly increased, as it has been abundantly proved that the product thus secured is much more valuable - lighter in colour and weight, finer in texture, with an increased proportion of wrapper leaves, and more uniform qualities, and with lesser amounts of cellulose, nicotine, gums and resins.
These pests can be kept in check by syringing with nicotine, soft-soap and quassia solutions, or by "vaporising" two or three evenings in succession, afterwards syringing the plants with clear tepid water.
Piperine, conine, atropine, belladonine, cocaine, hyoscyamine and nicotine have been already synthesized; the constitution of several others requires confirmation, while there remain many important alkaloids - quinine, morphine, strychnine, &c. - whose constitution remains unknown.
(1) Pyridine group. Piperine; conine; trigonelline; arecaidine; guvacine; pilocarpine; cytisine; nicotine; sparteine.
NICOTINE, C10H14N2, an alkaloid, found with small quantities of nicotimine, C 19 H 14 N 2, nicoteine, C10H12N2, and nicotelline, C 10 H 8 N 2, in tobacco.
Nicoteine is a liquid which boils at 267° C. It is separated from the other alkaloids of the group by distilling off the nicotine and nicotimine in steam and then fractionating the residue.
It is a decomposition product of various alkaloids (nicotine, sparteine, cinchonine, &c.), being formed when they are strongly heated either alone or with zinc dust.
Pilocarpine has an action closely allied to that of nicotine, but as it is much less poisonous (the effects produced by small doses being chiefly excessive sweating and salivation), it is capable of being utilized in medicine.
Pictet (Ber., 1897, 30, p. 2117) obtained it by oxidizing nicotine methyl hydroxide with potassium permanganate.
Willoughby's was old hardwood and brass under 70 years of bad breath and nicotine, catering to a tenth the crowd of bygone days.
The constitution of nicotine was established by A.
