title: Gas chromatographic method for the determination of free and total solanesol in tabacco.
abstract: Solanesol, a trisesquiterpenoid alcohol in tobacco leaf, has been shown to be an important precursor of the tumorigenic polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons of smoke. Thus, a rapid, reproducible method for the determination of leaf solanesol levels is desirable. We developed procedures based on high-temperature gas chromatography for the analyses of free and total solanesol. The alcohol, as its trimethylsilyl derivative, was separated and quantified on a short Dexsil 300 GC column, with 1,3-dimyristin as an internal standard. The free alcohol was determined by direct derivatization of ground tobacco and its hexane extract with N,O-bis(trimethylsily)-acetamide-dimethylformamide reagents. For total solanesol, the ground tobacco or its hexane extract was saponified with ethanolic potassium hydroxide. Acidification and hexane extraction yielded samples suitable for silylation and gas chromatographic analysis. Evaluation of the various methods indicated that free solanesol was best determined in the hexane extract of tobacco, and total solanesol after saponification of ground tobacco. Total solanesol levels in commercially important tobacco types were determined.
mesh_terms: D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000379:methods; D006868:Hydrolysis; D010947:Plants, Toxic; D012991:Solanaceous Alkaloids / Q000032:analysis* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D012991:Solanaceous Alkaloids