Principal Aliphatic Secondary Amines of Burley Tobacco

Quantity and distribution of the principal aliphatic secondary amines - dimethylamine, methylethylamine, diethylamine, and methylpropylamine - varied within plant tissue and among Nicotiana spp. In Burley tobacco the stem tissue had the highest content of these amines and the leaf midrib the lowest. Leaf lamina, roots and seed were intermediate in amine content. Among Nicotiana spp. there was considerable difference in total amine content as well as among the ratios of the amine fractions measured. Amine content of tissue was positively correlated with nitrogen content of tissue and was altered by the drying process of tissue prior to analysis. The amines were not present as free amines or salts but were detected only following steam distillation from a basic medium