Nicotine (Pyridine-Pyrrolidine Alkaloid, Derived from l-Aspartic Acid and l-Ornithine)

Abstract

Nicotine [1–3], the principal alkaloid of the plant Nicotiana tabacum Linn (Fam. Solanaceae), was first isolated in 1828 by Posselt and Reimann. It also occurs in other Nicotiana species. An interesting story rolls down through centuries: a Spanish man called Rodrigo de Jerez, who learnt about smoking from native Americans, started smoking “cylindrical rolls” of tobacco leaves in Portugal and puffed off smoke through nostrils and mouth. He was identified as a man with evil spirit and was put to prison. After several years of imprisonment he came out, and to his astonishment he found that a large number of people were already addicted to smoking.